In an effort to protect children from unintentional exposure to liquid nicotine, a number of medical societies are supporting legislation to mandate childproof caps for liquid nicotine containers.

In an Aug. 11 letter to Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.), the American Academy of Pediatricians, American College of Physicians, American College of Cardiology, American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, and 26 other organizations highlighted the issue in support of the Child Nicotine Poisoning Prevention Act of 2014, which would require liquid nicotine containers to have childproof caps.

Medical societies are calling for legislation that wold mandate childproof caps for containers of liquid nicotine.

The letter highlights the danger liquid nicotine poses to children, noting that a small 15 mL bottle contains more than 500 mg of nicotine, a concentration that would be enough to kill four toddlers.

In the letter, the AAP noted federal data on the increase in calls regarding liquid nicotine to poison control centers from 1 per month in September 2010 to 215 per month in February 2014 (MMWR 2014;63:291-2).

The AAP also noted that liquid nicotine for e-cigarettes is often packaged in brightly colored containers and has flavors, such as berry or gummy bear that could be tempting for children and lead to unintended exposure, and is highly toxic when absorbed through the skin or ingested.

"Alarmingly, these products are often sold in containers without any childproofing, and there are currently no federal requirements for childproof packaging for liquid nicotine despite the highly toxic nature of these products," the letter states, adding that the bill "preserves FDA’s authority to regulate the manufacture, marketing, sale, and distribution of tobacco products and the packages and containers in which they are sold."

The American Association for Cancer Research and the American Society of Clinical Oncology recently called on the FDA to go further with its proposed rule for broadening its tobacco oversight regulations and called for a requirement that e-cigarette refill containers be childproof.

gtwachtman@frontlinemedcom.com

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Pediatricians and colleagues call for childproof caps on e-cig refills