Topline: The Trump administration may ban all non
tobacco-flavored vaping products across the country, the president said
Wednesday, after federal health officials reported they were investigating more
than 450 cases of illness and six deaths possibly linked to the use of the
devices.
·
The Food & Drug
Administration (FDA) is reportedly preparing final guidance
to remove all e-cigarette flavors—except for tobacco—from the market.
·
First Lady Melania
Trump took to Twitter Monday to express concern over
vaping-related lung disease and wrote, “I am deeply concerned about the growing
epidemic of e-cigarette use in our children. We need to do all we can to
protect the public from tobacco-related disease and death.”
·
The cause of the
illnesses is unclear, but many of the cases have been linked to vaping products
containing THC, the psychoactive chemical in cannabis.
·
The Centers for
Disease Control (CDC) recommended Friday that
people stop use of all vaping products, both nicotine and cannabis-based, while
health officials work to find the cause of the illnesses.
·
Michigan became the
first state last week to ban e-cigarettes, after San Francisco (home to vaping
heavyweight Juul) was the first city to do so (in
June).
·
The Trump
administration issued a statement on the matter, which said the FDA will
finalize a “compliance policy” in the coming weeks. Health and Human Services
secretary Alex Azar said, "The Trump Administration is making it clear
that we intend to clear the market of flavored e-cigarettes to reverse the
deeply concerning epidemic of youth e-cigarette use that is impacting children,
families, schools and communities. We will not stand idly by as these products
become an on-ramp to combustible cigarettes or nicotine addiction for a
generation of youth."
·
"We strongly
agree with the need for aggressive category-wide action on flavored products.
We will fully comply with the final FDA policy when effective,” said Juul
spokesperson Ted Kwong in a emailed statement.
Key background: The FDA was already investigating at
least 127 reports of seizures possibly linked to vaping. Although scientists
are still unsure of vaping’s long-term health impact, most believe
that e-cigarettes are a less dangerous nicotine source than tobacco cigarettes.
Before they advised people to avoid vaping, the CDC also recommended that all
nonsmokers stay away from vaping. E-cigarettes were a $2.3 billion business in
2018, and manufacturers were in
the process of seeking FDA approval to continue
selling their products.
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