Vape culture takes another hit as the Trump administration plans to ban most flavored electronic cigarettes in an effort to curb the use of these products by minors.
The ban, said to be announced later this week, will apply to sweet and fruit-flavored e-cigarette pods but not to menthol and tobacco flavors, according to The New York Times. The new restrictions will also not apply to THC vaping products, which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say could be behind a string of vaping-related deaths and illnesses, or open-tank systems commonly sold in vape shops.
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Back in September 2019, President Donald Trump said that the Food and Drug Administration would bar the sale of all flavored e-cigarettes, including menthol, only excluding tobacco flavors. This initial full-ban proposal would have also nixed the sale of open-tank systems sold in vape shops, something that tobacco and vaping companies warned would leave many jobless.
The policy “breaks the administration’s promise to kids and families to eliminate the flavored e-cigarettes that are driving an epidemic of youth nicotine addiction,” Matthew Myers, head of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, said in a statement to The Washington Post. “By leaving menthol-flavored e-cigarettes widely available and totally exempting liquid flavored products, this policy will not stop the youth e-cigarette epidemic.”
As of December 27, 2019, 55 deaths and 2,561 lung injuries have been linked to e-cigarette use, according to the CDC. To help combat this, Congress previously approved raising the age for all cigarettes, e-cigarettes, cigars, and other tobacco products to 21.
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