America’s uncool father figure, Barack Obama, has seen what his teens are doing these days and said, “Enough.”
There’s going to be no more vaping for you kids.
Today, the federal government issued long-awaited regulations on e-cigarettes and vapes, and they are sweeping, banning the sale of devices to kids under the age of 18.
The youth-access restrictions … compel retailers to verify the age of purchasers by photo identification, to put health warnings on their labels and to bar sales of the products in vending machines that are accessible to minors. They also ban the distribution of free samples, and the use of flavors in cigars. But they don’t prohibit the use of flavorings in e-cigarettes; at a press conference Thursday, officials said they were very interested in the issue, but that it needs more study.
Secretary of Health and Human Services Sylvia Mathews Burwell said that the government is concerned about kids developing addictions to vapes.
“As cigarette smoking among those under 18 has fallen, the use of other nicotine products, including e-cigarettes, has taken a drastic leap,” said Sylvia Mathews Burwell, secretary of health and human services, in announcing the new rules. “All of this is creating a new generation of Americans who are at risk of addiction.”
The restrictions don’t go into effect for three months, so tweens, buy your vapes now.
[Via The Washington Post]