PHILADELPHIA—In response to the FDA’s decision to authorize e-cigarettes marketed under the brand name Vuse, the Philadelphia Department of Public Health is releasing the following statement:

“I’m extremely disappointed by the FDA’s decision to authorize the Vuse e-cigarette for sale in the United States,” said Ryan Coffman, Philadelphia’s Tobacco Policy and Control Program Manager. “According to recent data from the FDA and CDC, Vuse, which contains the approximate nicotine equivalent of a pack of cigarettes, was the second most popular vaping product among young people. Vuse is manufactured by R.J. Reynolds, one of the nation’s largest tobacco companies, that has a history of deception and manipulation spanning decades that resulted in a conviction for violating civil racketeering laws in federal court.”

“If big tobacco companies, like R.J. Reynolds, were genuinely committed to reducing the harm of their products, they would cease selling cigarettes. The FDA must leverage its full regulatory authority to remove Vuse and similar products from the market, and to promote the usage of FDA-approved pharmacotherapy, such as nicotine replacement therapy, which has a much more substantial body of evidence to support that it safely and effectively help smokers to quit.”