US watchdog investigates e-cigarette seizure reports

The US Food and Drug Administration says it is investigating a small number of reports over several years of e-cigarette users experiencing seizures.

The potential link was seen mostly in young vapers, FDA commissioner Scott Gottlieb and principal deputy commissioner Amy Abernethy said in a statement.

The FDA said it has received 35 reports of seizures possibly related to e-cigarette use between 2010 and early this year and is concerned that those numbers could indicate a wider phenomenon.

“We want to be clear that we don’t yet know if there’s a direct relationship between the use of e-cigs and a risk of seizure,” Mr Gottlieb told a House of Representatives appropriations subcommittee at a hearing on the agency’s budget request.

The agency is raising the issue to encourage the public to report adverse events related to e-cigarettes to the FDA. Seizures are a known risk associated with ingestion of nicotine liquids used in e-cigarettes.

The FDA has been particularly concerned about an epidemic of youth vaping associated with popular e-cigarettes made by Juul Labs and recently proposed to restrict sales of flavoured products in stores. The agency said in its statement that in many of the seizure reports, it couldn’t identify a specific brand or sub-brand of device.

Shares of tobacco makers who are trying to diversify away from traditional cigarettes by embracing electronic devices declined to comment on the news.

Altria, which has a large stake in Juul Labs, fell in New York, while Philip Morris declined. In London, British American Tobacco shares also fell.

Bloomberg