US health officials move to tighten sales of e-cigarettes

US health regulators are moving ahead with a plan designed to keep e-cigarettes out of the hands of teenagers by restricting sales of most flavoured products in convenience stores, gas stations, pharmacies and other retail locations.

The new guidelines, first proposed by the Food and Drug Administration in November, are the latest government effort to reverse what health officials call an epidemic of underage vaping.

E-cigarettes typically heat a flavoured nicotine solution into an inhalable vapour, reports AP.

Federal law bans their sale to those under 18, but 1 in 5 high school students report using e-cigarettes, according to the latest survey published last year.

Under proposed FDA guidelines released Wednesday, e-cigarette makers would need to restrict sales of most flavoured products to stores that verify the age of customers upon entry or include a separate, age-restricted area for vaping products.

Companies would also be expected to use third-party, identity-verification technology for online sales.

The FDA will also prioritise removing vaping products that clearly appeal to kids, such as those with packaging that resembles juice boxes, candy or cookies.

Companies that don’t follow the new requirements risk having their products pulled from the market, the FDA said.

Anti-smoking activists have questioned whether the new FDA restrictions will be enough to stop the teen vaping surge.

The FDA has little authority over how stores display and sell vaping products. Instead, critics say the agency is essentially telling companies to self-police.

“FDA continues to nibble around the edges and that will not end the epidemic,” said Erika Sward, of the American Lung Association, which has called on the FDA to remove all flavoured e-cigarettes from the market.

She said FDA’s decision to exempt menthol and mint flavours is a mistake, since survey data shows those flavours are used by roughly half of teens who vape.

Health experts say nicotine is harmful to developing brains, and some researchers worry that addicted teens will eventually switch from vaping to smoking.