FDA unveils new regulations on e-cigarettes

The Food and Drug Administration announced on May 6 its long-awaited rule that allows regulation of all tobacco products, including cigars, electronic cigarettes, hookahs, personal vaporizers and electronic pipes, reports The Hill.

First proposed in April 2014, the rule will prohibit companies from selling these new types of tobacco products to anyone under the age of 18, require health warnings on product packaging and advertisements, prohibit the selling of these products at vending machines or distributed as free samples, and disallow their marketing as "light," "low" or "mild" unless previously authorized by the FDA.

Most companies will have to submit premarket applications that will undergo review to assess their impact on the public health, and those that don't submit the required information or don't meet federal standards would have their products removed from the market, reports CBS News.

"Ending the tobacco epidemic is more urgent than ever, and can only happen if the FDA acts aggressively and broadly to protect all Americans from all tobacco products," said Harold Wimmer, president of the American Lung Association.