FDA

Jumping on the Ban-wagon: As Vaping Associated Illnesses Rise, Governments and Corporations Take Action

(Source)   As of September 17, 2019, there have been 7 reported deaths and 530 cases of lung injury associated with e-cigarettes and vaping. Doctors across the country are struggling to determine the true cause of this illness with a high incidence among vape product users. Doctors are unable to even prescribe a uniform diagnosis to the condition, with some using the term “vaping-associated lung injury,” or “VALI.” Many believe these vaping-related illnesses are due to additives—namely Vitamin E acetate—found in some THC vaping products. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has detected Vitamin E acetate in many of the samples tested during  , but it has not been present in all. While the CDC cannot conclusively determine that Vitamin E acetate is the cause of these mysterious illnesses, they recommend avoiding inhaling the oil. In response to this mysterious vaping illness, governments and private corporations alike are striving to heavily regulate e-cigarettes and vaping products. On September 11, 2019, the Trump administration announced it would seek to ban the sale of flavored e-cigarettes at the federal level. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is currently outlining a plan to remove all non-tobacco flavored e-cigarettes and nicotine [read more]

The Truth About Your Makeup Routine

By Arielle Padover If you’re among the two-thirds of Americans who believe that the government regulates the chemicals that go into your personal care products, think again. According to the Environmental Working Group, American women use an average of twelve personal care products that contain 168 different chemicals every day, while American men use an average of six personal care products that contain 85 different chemicals. These chemicals are currently regulated by the Food, Drug, and Cosmetics Act, which has not been substantially updated since it was introduced in 1938, almost 80 years ago. The 1938 legislation gives the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) very limited control over the chemicals that go into personal care products. According to the FDA’s website, the “FDA does not have legal authority to approve cosmetic products and ingredients (other than color additives) before they go on the market” under the existing law. The FDA cannot mandate testing of ingredients or recall products, and cosmetic companies do not have to register with the FDA, submit ingredient lists, or report adverse events. Currently, only 11 toxic ingredients are specifically banned by statute from use in beauty products in the United States, two of which are mercury [read more]