E-Cigarettes May Be Inviting FDA and FTC Scrutiny

E-cigarettes -- tubes that look like cigarettes but deliver nicotine without burning tobacco -- may be pushing the limits with their consumer advertising, and FDA/FTC crackdowns could be coming. The marketer of Smoking Stick Electronic Cigarettes is aggressively promoting an advertising site that is cleverly masked to look like a legitimate TV news site, complete with phony "comments". With claims like "It's a healthier way to smoke," the ad site is clearly inviting agency scrutiny.

The e-cigarette industry already is involved in one legal dispute with the FDA. The agency had blocked importation of Chinese e-cigs to the U.S., but in early January 2010 a federal judge ordered the FDA to back off, saying the agency doesn't have jurisdiction. This issue is far from settled.