Matt Salmon, President of the Electronic Cigarette Association (ECA), today denounced a quotation attributed to him by Epiphany Media Group in a press release dated September 14, 2009. The falsely attributed quotation conveys the mistaken impression that some e-cigarette products have been approved by the FDA for consumer use. Salmon underscored the ECA’s commitment to abide by FDA regulations.
“It has come to my attention that a press release with false and misleading claims about e-cigarettes attributed to me was distributed without my knowledge or approval. I want to make it unequivocally clear that I have never made such statements or claims and they are patently false,” said Salmon.
The erroneous quotation, re-released on October 8, 2009, reads, “It is disheartening that the FDA issued a warning to the public against electronic cigarettes without conclusive data to support the claim.” The release goes onto say that Salmon indicated that “some of the companies that are part of the ECA such as inLife electronic cigarette product lines are approved by the FDA.”
“I don’t know of any electronic cigarette suppliers or manufacturers that have been approved by the FDA,” added Salmon. “All of our members send a warning card with every unit sold stating clearly that the product has not been approved by the FDA.”
The ECA’s policy is that member companies cannot make any health claims about their products or represent them as smoking cessation devices. E-cigarettes sold by these companies are marketed as simply an alternative to combustible tobacco smoking. Additionally, all members must ensure that they have taken precautions to prevent people under the legal smoking age from having access to their products.
"This requirement has been a long-standing policy of the ECA since its inception and we will take the necessary steps to enforce it," Salmon concluded.
Visit www.ecassoc.org for more information about the ECA and its member companies.
Late-life smoking cessation can significantly extend life expectancy