US plans to enact partial ban of vape flavors
Critics blast pair of exemptions seen as retreat for Trump
By Matthew Perrone Associated Press
WASHINGTON — U.S. health officials will ban most flavored e-cigarettes popular with underage teenagers, but their plan includes major exceptions that benefit
vaping manufacturers, retailers and adults who use the nicotine-emitting devices.
The Trump administration announced Thursday that it will prohibit fruit, candy, mint and dessert flavors from small, cartridge-based e-cigarettes that are popular with high school students. But menthol and tobacco-flavored e-cigarettes will be allowed to remain on the market.
The flavor ban will also entirely exempt large, tank-based vaping devices, which are primarily sold in vape shops that cater to adult smokers. The ban could go into effect as early as February.
Together, the two exemptions represent a significant retreat from President Donald Trump’s original plan announced four months ago, which would have banned all vaping flavors — including menthol — from all types of e-cigarettes. The new policy will spare a significant portion of the multibillion-dollar vaping market. And the changes mark a major victory for thousands of vape shop owners who sell the tank-based systems, which allow users to mix customized flavors.
Anti-tobacco advocates condemned the decision to permit menthol and exempt tank-based vapes. They have lobbied the Trump administration to follow through on its initial pledge to ban all flavors except tobacco, arguing that teenagers who vape will simply shift to using menthol if it remains on the market.
“Only the elimination of all flavored e-cigarettes can end the worsening youth e-cigarette epidemic and stop e-cigarette companies from luring and addicting kids with flavored products,” Matthew Myers, of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, said in a statement.
E-cigarettes are battery-powered devices that typically heat a flavored nicotine solution into an inhalable aerosol. They have been pitched to adults as a less-harmful alternative to cigarettes, but there is limited data on their ability to help smokers quit.
The Food and Drug Administration has struggled for years to find the appropriate approach to regulate vaping. Under current law, all e-cigarettes are supposed to undergo an FDA review beginning in May. Only those that can demonstrate a benefit for U.S. public health will be permitted to stay on the market.
“We have to protect our families,” Trump said Tuesday, ahead of the announcement. “At the same time, it’s a big industry. We want to protect the industry.”
The flavor restrictions apply to e-cigarettes that use prefilled nicotine cartridges mainly sold at gas stations and convenience stores.
Juul Labs is the biggest player in that market, but it previously pulled all of its flavors except menthol and tobacco after coming under intense political scrutiny. Many smaller manufacturers continue to sell sweet, fruity flavors like “grape slushie,” “strawberry cotton candy” and “sea salt blueberry.“
The flavor restrictions won’t affect the larger specialty devices sold at vape shops, which typically don’t admit customers under 21. These tank-based systems allow users to fill the device with the flavor of their choice. Sales of these devices represent an estimated 40% of the U.S. vaping business, with sales across about 15,000 to 19,000 shops.
Even with the exemption for products sold at vape shops, industry advocates were not happy with the restrictions. Gregory Conley of the American Vaping Association said narrower flavor options for Juul and similar devices “will result in more adults smoking.”
Still, the new policy represents the federal government’s biggest step yet to combat a surge in teen vaping that officials fear is hooking a generation of young people on nicotine.
In the latest government survey, more than 1 in 4 high school students reported using e-cigarettes in the previous month, despite federal law banning sales to those under 18. Late last month Trump signed a law raising the minimum age to purchase all tobacco and vaping products from 18 to 21 nationwide.
Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said the administration decided to exempt menthol after reviewing new data showing the flavor was not popular with teens.
Survey data published in November reported that less than 6% of teens picked menthol as their top choice for vaping. Mint was the most popular flavor among sophomores and seniors.
When Trump officials first sketched out plans at a White House event in September, they said menthol would be banned. But that effort stalled after vaping proponents and lobbyists pushed back and White House advisers told Trump that a total flavor ban could cost him votes.
