The electronic cigarette industry is undoubtedly very happy after the Food and Drug Administration announced this week they would delay regulations that would have caused the removal of many e-cig products, and allow manufacturers to even get an endorsement of e-cigarettes as a smoking cessation aid.

FDA commissioner Scott Gottlieb announced in a press conference that as part of a new initiative to cut down on the 480,000 deaths per year from tobacco-related causes, the agency will implement a strategy to get tobacco manufacturers to slash the amount of nicotine they sell.

He added that the FDA even encourages e-cig makers to start discussing marketing their products as a way to quit smoking if they are interested in doing so. However, many people are wary of the fledgling industry, saying not enough research has been done into e-cigarettes themselves to suggest that they are necessarily safe, or at the very least not a gateway to tobacco use.

“Tobacco use remains the leading cause of preventable disease and death in the United States,” Gottlieb said in remarks posted on the FDA’s website. “But much has changed in the landscape of tobacco product regulation and FDA’s ability to address this public health crisis. For one, FDA has significant new regulatory authorities. When I last served, FDA lacked the authority to regulate tobacco products as traditionally marketed. Since that time, our statute has been amended to include an entire chapter of new authorities. And FDA has stood up a new Center for Tobacco Products that already has a number of important accomplishments.”