By Ros Krasny WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is "pushing very hard" to release a proposed rule that would establish its authority over e-cigarettes, the head of the agency said on Thursday amid concerns the products pose a risk to children. FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg told senators at a Congressional budget hearing that it has taken too long to move the rule forward and that she expects the proposal to be ready for release "very soon." The FDA's proposal is currently being examined by the White House's Office of Management and Budget, which reviews potential regulations to assess their economic impact. OMB, which has been reviewing the proposal for roughly five months, has not said when it will be finished with its assessment. Senator Jeff Merkley, Democrat of Oregon, told Hamburg that the agency's delays were "disgraceful" since makers of products such as tutti-frutti flavored e-cigarettes and strawberry-flavored cigars have "an insidious strategy to addict our children to nicotine." "Four years and four months to get the first draft over to OMB is unacceptable," he said.
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