Thursday, January 2, 2020

Trump administration declares ban on mint, fruit flavored vaping products

BY NATHANIEL WEIXEL - 01/02/20 01:42 PM EST 315

The Trump administration is banning certain flavors of cartridge-based e-cigarettes but is stopping short of eliminating all types of vaping products.

Under the policy unveiled Thursday by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the administration will strip the market of every pod-based flavor except for tobacco and menthol. Pod-based products, like those manufactured by Juul and NJOY, are the most popular with teens.

Open tank systems, which are commonly found in vaping shops and not as popular with young people, will be exempt from the policy.

According to FDA, companies that do not stop the manufacturing, distribution and sale of unauthorized flavored cartridge-based e-cigarettes (other than tobacco or menthol) within 30 days risk FDA enforcement actions.

“By prioritizing enforcement against the products that are most widely used by children, our action today seeks to strike the right public health balance by maintaining e-cigarettes as a potential off-ramp for adults using combustible tobacco while ensuring these products don’t provide an on-ramp to nicotine addiction for our youth,” Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said in a statement.

The move is meant to combat a surge in youth vaping but is a retreat from the comprehensive vaping ban announced by Trump and top officials in September.

At the time, Trump, Azar and other top health officials announced their intent to clear the market of every flavor of e-cigarettes except for tobacco. The ban would have applied to pod-based systems as well as open-tank systems.

Trump reportedly scrapped the earlier policy after being warned of potential political consequences. During a tense meeting at the White House with vaping industry representatives and anti-tobacco advocates in November, Trump signaled he was walking back the long-delayed proposal amid concerns from campaign advisers and pro-vaping groups over job losses.

The new move is intended to be a compromise between the two camps.