DES MOINES — Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller has submitted a policy paper to the federal government and public health experts recommending new polices on e-cigarettes and a public information campaign that he says will drive the adult smoking rate below 10 percent over the next three years.
"The adult smoking rate for 2017 was 13.9 percent, down from 16.8 percent three years ago," Miller wrote in his policy paper "The rapidly falling rate, combined with the growing popularity of JUUL e-cigarettes and other alternatives, puts the U.S. on the precipice of a major public health breakthrough."
According to Miller, heat-not-burn products, which heat the tobacco without creating the traditional cigarette chemicals, would drive down combustible smoking rates. He says this has been the case in Japan and other markets.
Miller's plan included steps that involve streamlining the pre-market clearance process for non-combustible products, a public information campaign aimed at combustible smokers who are unable or unwilling to quit and encouraging them to switch to e-cigarettes. \
Miller also proposes approving applications for heat-not-burn products, prohibiting menthol flavoring in combustibles as well as lowering the amount of nicotine in combustibles.