WASHINGTON (October 13, 2021)—The R Street Institute welcomes the recent announcement from the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Center for Tobacco Products which authorizes the marketing of the Vuse Solo electronic nicotine delivery system (ENDS). In a first-of-its-kind authorization for ENDS products, the FDA recognizes growing evidence that reduced-risk tobacco products mitigate certain health risks associated with combustible tobacco use and promote tobacco cessation in adult cigarette smokers.

Robust data and scientific evidence submitted through the premarket tobacco product application (PMTA) process was heavily scrutinized by the FDA and demonstrates that the benefits of the Vuse Solo product, and the tobacco-flavored e-liquid pods used in its closed system, outweigh the potential harms to the nation’s health.

R Street’s Integrated Harm Reduction Policy Director Mazen Saleh noted the significance of this decision as a vital component to ensuring that individuals who smoke deadly, combustible tobacco have an off-ramp to a future with fewer health risks.

Saleh added, “It is our hope that this announcement will advance the ongoing debate regarding the benefits of reduced-risk tobacco products for adult consumers. When tobacco harm reduction is integrated at the point of care, individuals are better equipped to make informed decisions that improve their quality of life. This decision undoubtedly helps move adult smokers towards lesser harm on the risk continuum of tobacco use; the path to complete abstinence is a stepping ladder, not a cliff.”

The R Street Institute has long-advocated for reduced-risk tobacco products as a form of harm reduction and is steadfast in the belief that, when integrated with other forms of harm reduction, this approach improves population health.

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