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New FDA Regulations Drive Decline In E-Cigarette Sales

In this Tuesday, April 10, 2018 photo, a high school principal displays vaping devices that were confiscated from students at a school in Massachusetts. (AP File Photo/Steven Senne)

Sales of electronic cigarettes continue to slump, with new FDA restrictions playing a role in the decline.

A Nielson report released on Tuesday shows that overall sales of e-cigarette products dropped over 14 percent for the four-week period ending February 22. That's based on figures compared to the same period one year ago.

The Winston-Salem Journal reports that federal regulatory changes continue to have an effect on the industry, notably rules affecting closed-pod cartridges.

The Food and Drug Administration placed new restrictions on “unauthorized flavorings” being used in cartridge-based e-cigarettes, effective February 6.  New rules regarding nicotine liquids are also shaking things up for manufacturers.

And the FDA raised the legal smoking age from 18 to 21 last December.

The report shows that Vuse, which is manufactured by R.J. Reynolds Vapor Company, has maintained its No. 2 market share, behind industry leader Juul. 

Neal Charnoff joined 88.5 WFDD as Morning Edition host in 2014. Raised in the Catskill region of upstate New York, he graduated from Sarah Lawrence College in 1983. Armed with a liberal arts degree, Neal was fully equipped to be a waiter. So he prolonged his arrested development bouncing around New York and L.A. until discovering that people enjoyed listening to his voice on the radio. After a few years doing overnight shifts at a local rock station, Neal spent most of his career at Vermont Public Radio. He began as host of a nightly jazz program, where he was proud to interview many of his idols, including Dave Brubeck and Sonny Rollins. Neal graduated to the news department, where he was the local host for NPR's All Things Considered for 14 years. In addition to news interviews and features, he originated and produced the Weekly Conversation On The Arts, as well as VPR Backstage, which profiled theater productions around the state. He contributed several stories to NPR, including coverage of a devastating ice storm. Neal now sees the value of that liberal arts degree, and approaches life with the knowledge that all subjects and all art forms are connected to each other. Neal and his wife Judy are enjoying exploring North Carolina and points south. They would both be happy to never experience a Vermont winter again.

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