Trump administration bans fruit and mint flavoured vaping products in wake of recent deaths, illnesses
- The move leaves major exemptions that have upset anti-tobacco advocates
- The ban on the two flavours in e-cigarette cartridges will take effect in 30 days
The Trump administration on Thursday announced a ban on fruit and mint flavours in e-cigarette cartridges in an attempt to curb a wave of teen vaping, while leaving major exemptions that have upset anti-tobacco advocates.
The ban, set to take effect in 30 days, will forbid the sale of cartridge-based e-cigarette flavours except for menthol and tobacco.
The cartridge vaping products – typically sold at gas stations and convenience stores – have seen a surge in popularity among youth despite a wave of vaping-related lung illness and deaths.
The ban does not target the sale of flavoured liquids used in tank-based e-cigarettes, which are usually sold in speciality vaping shops and are more popular among older customers.
Matthew Myers, president of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, called the policy a “capitulation” to the largest e-cigarette manufacturer, Juul, and vaping shops.
“Rather than clear the market of all flavoured e-cigarettes, as the administration promised to do in September, the new policy allows menthol-flavoured e-cigarettes and flavoured liquids in every imaginable flavour to remain widely available,” Myers said in a statement. “Kids no doubt will be able to get their hands on them.”
Alex Azar, the Health and Human Services secretary, said the policy prioritised the products that were most widely used by children.
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Azar said the Trump administration sought to strike a “public health balance” between adults using the product to lessen their dependency on traditional tobacco products while preventing nicotine addiction in youth.
“The United States has never seen an epidemic of substance use arise as quickly as our current epidemic of youth use of e-cigarettes,” Azar said.
