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Fresh on the heels of reports citing six deaths and almost 500 people becoming ill as the result of their use of flavored e-cigarettes, the Trump administration has announced it is putting forth a proposal to ban thousands of flavors used in nicotine vaping products.
President Donald Trump said about the proposed ban on nicotine vaping products on Wednesday, “It’s very new and potentially very bad. There have been deaths and there have been a lot of other problems. People think it’s an easy solution to cigarettes, but turns out that it has its own difficulties. Not only is it a problem overall, but really specifically with respect to children.”
Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar reports that while 8 million adults now use e-cigarettes, so do an astounding 5 million children.
“An entire generation of children risks become addicted to nicotine because of the attractiveness, appealability and availability of these vaping products,” said Azar.
CBS News reports…
The FDA has had the authority to ban vaping flavors since 2016, but has resisted calls to take that step.
Instead, the agency previously said it wanted to study the role of flavors in vaping products, including whether they help adult smokers quit traditional cigarettes.
But parents, politicians and health advocates have increasingly called for a crackdown on flavors , arguing that they are overwhelmingly to blame for a recent surge in underage vaping by U.S. teens.
A ban on flavors would represent a huge blow to the vaping industry, including companies like Juul, which has grown into a multibillion dollar business by selling mint, fruit and dessert flavored-nicotine products.
Vaping companies have long claimed that the purpose of their products is to help adults wean themselves off traditional cigarettes. However, the data on the effectiveness of vaping as a smoking alternative suggests it has not been very successful in that regard.
According to CNBC…
The Food and Drug Administration is currently finalizing its guidance to remove all non-tobacco flavors of e-cigarettes, including mint and menthol, from the market within 30 days. Companies might be able to reintroduce their flavors at a later date, so long as they submit a formal application and receive approval from the FDA.
Vaping companies like Juul have been criticized for hooking children on e-cigarettes with their fruity flavors like mango and creme. The surge in underaged vaping, which U.S. health officials have labeled as an “epidemic,” is one of the reasons why they plan to ban them — at least until the FDA can thoroughly review their safety, Azar said after meeting with President Donald Trump at the White House on the issue.
“We will not stand idly by as these products become an on-ramp to combustible cigarettes or nicotine addiction for a generation of youth,” said Azar about the new vaping regulatons.