Politics

Senior officials in the Food and Drug Administration’s tobacco center were blindsided by a recent decision that opens the door to allowing more unauthorized electronic cigarettes and nicotine pouches onto the U.S. market, The Associated Press has learned.

The guidelines, posted online earlier this month before former FDA Commissioner Marty Makary resigned, will allow companies to launch certain nicotine-based products before they’ve been fully vetted by regulators.

Some FDA officials tasked with enforcing vaping regulations were not consulted on the changes and only learned of them the night before the document was published, according to two staffers who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity to discuss confidential agency matters. The document’s sudden appearance sparked internal confusion about how the policy came about and who authorized it, the staffers said.