2020-07748. Request for Information on Vaping Products Associated With Lung Injuries; Extension of Comment Period

AGENCY:

Food and Drug Administration, HHS.

ACTION:

Notice; extension of comment period.

SUMMARY:

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA or the Agency) is extending the comment period for the request for information (RFI) entitled “Request for Information on Vaping Products Associated with Lung Injuries” that appeared in the Federal Register of February 18, 2020. In the RFI, FDA opened a docket to obtain data and information related to the use of vaping products that are associated with recent lung injuries. The Agency is taking this action in response to requests for an extension to allow interested persons additional time to submit comments.

DATES:

FDA is extending the comment period on the request for information published February 18, 2020 (85 FR 8875). Submit either electronic or written comments by June 19, 2020.

ADDRESSES:

You may submit comments as follows. Please note that late, untimely filed comments will not be considered. Electronic comments must be submitted on or before June 19, 2020. The https://www.regulations.gov electronic filing system will accept comments until 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time at the end of June 19, 2020. Comments received by mail/hand delivery/courier (for written/paper submissions) will be considered timely if they are postmarked or the delivery service acceptance receipt is on or before that date.

Electronic Submissions

Submit electronic comments in the following way:

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the instructions for submitting comments. Comments submitted electronically, including attachments, to https://www.regulations.gov will be posted to the docket unchanged. Because your comment will be made public, you are solely responsible for ensuring that your comment does not include any confidential information that you or a third party may not wish to be posted, such as medical information, your or anyone else's Social Security number, or confidential business information, such as a manufacturing process. Please note that if you include your name, contact information, or other information that identifies you in the body of your comments, that information will be posted on https://www.regulations.gov.
• If you want to submit a comment with confidential information that you do not wish to be made available to the public, submit the comment as a written/paper submission and in the manner detailed (see “Written/Paper Submissions” and “Instructions”).

Written/Paper Submissions

Submit written/paper submissions as follows:

• MAIL/HAND DELIVERY/COURIER (for written/paper submissions): Dockets Management Staff (HFA-305), Food and Drug Administration, 5630 Fishers Lane, Rm. 1061, Rockville, MD 20852.
• For written/paper comments submitted to the Dockets Management Staff, FDA will post your comment, as well as any attachments, except for information submitted, marked and identified, as confidential, if submitted as detailed in “Instructions.”

Instructions: All submissions received must include the Docket No. FDA-2020-N-0597 for “Request for Information on Vaping Products Associated with Lung Injuries; Extension of Comment Period.” Received comments, those filed in a timely manner (see ADDRESSES), will be placed in the docket and, except for those submitted as “Confidential Submissions,” publicly viewable at https://www.regulations.gov or at the Dockets Management Staff between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m., Monday through Friday.

• Confidential Submissions—To submit a comment with confidential information that you do not wish to be made publicly available, submit your comments only as a written/paper submission. You should submit two copies total. One copy will include the information you claim to be confidential with a heading or cover note that states “THIS DOCUMENT CONTAINS CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION.” The Agency will review this copy, including the claimed confidential information, in its consideration of comments. The second copy, which will have the claimed confidential information redacted/blacked out, will be available for public viewing and posted on https://www.regulations.gov. Submit both copies to the Dockets Management Staff. If you do not wish your name and contact information to be made publicly available, you can provide this information on the cover sheet and not in the body of your comments and you must identify this information as “confidential.” Any information marked as “confidential” will not be disclosed except in accordance with 21 CFR 10.20 and other applicable disclosure law. For more information about FDA's posting of comments to public dockets, see 80 FR 56469, September 18, 2015, or access the information at: https://www.govinfo.gov/​content/​pkg/​FR-2015-09-18/​pdf/​2015-23389.pdf.

Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents or the electronic and written/paper comments received, go to https://www.regulations.gov and insert the docket number, found in brackets in the heading of this document, into the “Search” box and follow the prompts and/or go to the Dockets Management Staff, 5630 Fishers Lane, Rm. 1061, Rockville, MD 20852.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Samantha LohCollado, Center for Tobacco Products, Food and Drug Administration, Document Control Center, 10903 New Hampshire Ave., Bldg. 71, Rm. G335, Silver Spring, MD 20993-0002, email: [e-mail], 1-877-287-1373.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

In the Federal Register of February 18, 2020 (85 FR 8875), FDA published a request for information with a 60-day comment period to open a docket to obtain data and information related to the use of vaping products associated with recent lung injuries. The request for information responded to direction from Congress to gather information from the public that could help identify and evaluate additional steps the Agency could take to “address the recent pulmonary illnesses reported to be associated with the use of e-cigarettes and vaping products.” FDA seeks to obtain information on product design and potential ways to prevent consumers from modifying or adding substances to these products that are not intended by the manufacturers. In particular, FDA requests data and information in the form of reports and manuscripts that are unpublished or not available through indexed bibliographic databases. FDA has searched the publicly available scientific literature and is now seeking to supplement that with information not included in the published scientific literature.

The Agency has received requests for an extension of the comment period for the request for information. The requests conveyed concern that the current 60-day comment period does not allow sufficient time to submit data and information related to the use of vaping products associated with recent lung injuries.

FDA has considered the requests and is extending the comment period for the draft guidance for industry for 60 days, until June 19, 2020. The Agency believes that a 60-day extension allows adequate time for interested persons to submit comments.

Dated: April 7, 2020.

Lowell J. Schiller,

Principal Associate Commissioner for Policy.