The FDA wants to make it as difficult as possible to sell E-cigs.

To that end, the FDA sent a letter to the Electronic Cigarette Association, saying that the agency will regulate electronic cigarette and related products as part of its mission to protect the public health.

“FDA invites electronic cigarette firms to work in cooperation with the agency toward the goal of assuring that electronic cigarettes sold in the United States are lawfully marketed,” the agency wrote to the association.

Under the law, a company cannot say its drug can treat or mitigate a disease, such as nicotine addiction, unless it has proved to the FDA that the drug is safe and effective for its intended use.

The battle over whether e-cigarettes are legal has been heating up over the past year. The FDA contends that e-cigarettes are both a drug and a device, making them subject to U.S. government regulation under the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act.

Goodness knows smokers need to be protected from something that might help them quit.  Anything that is less dangerous than smoking cigarettes that replaces smoking cigarettes should be celebrated, not banned.  That includes snuff, snus, dip, chewing tobacco, and e-cigs.