U.S. House Subcommittee Asks FDA to Ban Vapor

In what turned out not to be an April Fool’s Day joke, Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, the Chairman of the Subcommittee on Economic and Consumer Policy, sent a letter urging the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to use its authority to clear the market of e-cigarettes for the duration of the coronavirus pandemic and use all available tools to encourage Americans to stop smoking and vaping.

Earlier this week, FDA asked a federal court to delay by four months its order requiring e-cigarette manufacturers to submit applications to remain on the market by May 12, 2020, according to a statement from, according to a statement for the House Committee on Oversight and Reform. 

The Subcommittee did not oppose this request, but instead asked FDA to take the following steps for the duration of the coronavirus crisis: 

(1)  use all available tools to encourage Americans to stop smoking combustible cigarettes and using e-cigarettes;|
(2)  suspend all approvals of Premarket Tobacco Product Applications; and
(3)  commit to immediately clearing the market of all e-cigarettes by prioritizing enforcement against them.