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The lack of clear direction and priorities at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s tobacco division has hampered its ability to regulate electronic cigarettes and other products, according to an expert panel assembled to examine problems at the agency. A blistering report released Monday describes the FDA’s tobacco program as “reactive and overwhelmed,” in its effort to oversee both traditional tobacco products and a sprawling market of largely unauthorized electronic cigarettes. The experts say FDA’s inconsistent approach to regulation is at least partially to blame for the spread of thousands of e-cigarette varieties that remain popular among teenagers. (Perrone, 12/19)

An independent review of the Food and Drug Administration’s tobacco regulators described them as overwhelmed, reactive and fatigued by an oppressive workload involving e-cigarettes and called for a major effort, by several parts of the Biden administration, to remove millions of illegal vaping products from the market. The report, by the Reagan-Udall Foundation for the FDA, also said the agency’s Center for Tobacco Products, created by federal law in 2009, has fallen short in laying out clear priorities and has been besieged by lawsuits brought by tobacco and vaping companies, on the one hand, and public health groups on the other. (McGinley, 12/19)

The stinging review, which was ordered by FDA Commissioner Robert Califf in July, was conducted by the independent Reagan-Udall Foundation and a panel of five former regulators. In a statement Monday, Califf said that the center’s leadership will review the findings and “will provide an update by early February.” (Florko, 12/19)

Some cigarette users take up vaping to help them quit smoking, or with the intention of switching to e-cigarettes altogether. But real-world research suggests that many adults who smoke cigarettes and vape — what’s known as dual use — continue smoking over the long term, sometimes alongside e-cigarettes. (Radcliffe, 12/13)