Submit Public Comment - Say No to Increased Nicotine Levels

In 2021, Utah decided to cap the level of nicotine in vape/e-cigarettes products sold in our state, and that cap currently sits at 3%. Nicotine, while addictive and harmful at any level, including 3%, it is even more addictive and bad for you at higher concentrations, such as 5% or 7%, because it increases usage rates and bad health outcomes correspondingly. So while American Heart Association is against electronic cigarette consumption and all pushes by the industry to increase consumption, especially that targeted at our youth, 3% nicotine content is a preferable limit at this time.

Due to lawsuits filed by the tobacco industry and other outside pressure because of this rule, the State is currently considering a rule change that would create a pathway to much higher nicotine content in electronic cigarette products sold in Utah. The Department of Health and Human Services is weighing public comment while they consider this rule change.

The American Heart Association opposes this rule and encourages you to participate in this process by voicing your concerns at the upcoming Public Hearing.

Comments template for public:

• Remember to introduce yourself, thank the tobacco control board for their time, and be polite.
  
• Ask them to please reject the proposed rule, R384-415 for your own personal reasons or for any of the reasons listed below.
  
• Evidence shows that higher nicotine e-cigarettes have driven the surge in e-cigarette sales in recent years, with those containing at least 4% nicotine comprising three-quarters of the e-cigarette market in 2018 (Truth Initiative).
  
• Nicotine harms developing brains, making young people more susceptible to addiction to other harmful substances.
  
• Nicotine may make it harder for students to focus in class and remember what they’re being taught.

Hearing Information:

• Monday, July 17th, 2023
• 10:00-11:30 AM

More information on the proposed rule change:

The proposed rule, R384-415, would order Utah Department of Health and Human Services to follow Federal Drug Administration process in allowing electronic cigarette products that have been authorized by the Premarket Tobacco Application process (PMTA) to sell in Utah at higher nicotine content than the current limit of 3%. The end result of this rule, if approved, would be electronic cigarette products being sold widely here in Utah with nicotine content limits much higher than the current 3%. There would be no upper limit on nicotine concentration, so long as the product is authorized through the PMTA process, and products pending authorization would be allowed to sell at 5% nicotine content.