U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration says it will release new rules banning flavors for vapor products in the next several weeks, officials said Wednesday.
“We are looking at vaping very strongly,” Trump said during a meeting in the Oval Office. “It’s very dangerous. Children have died, people have died. … We’re going to have some very strong rules, regulations, and more important I think we’re going to have some very important information come out very shortly. And we’ll be reporting that over the next couple of weeks.”
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) says it will prioritize the agency’s enforcement of the premarket authorization requirements for non-tobacco-flavored e-cigarettes, including mint and menthol, clearing the market of unauthorized, non-tobacco-flavored e-cigarette products.
“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,” said Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar. “We will not stand idly by as these products become an on-ramp to combustible cigarettes or nicotine addiction for a generation of youth.”
Azar’s statements seem contradictory to Trump’s claims that his actions are due to recent deaths from what the FDA has said is most likely attributed to vapable THC products.
“We appreciate President Trump and Secretary Azar’s continued support of the agency’s efforts to prevent youth use of e-cigarettes, including the bold approach we’re announcing today,” said acting FDA Commissioner Ned Sharpless.
“Once finalized, this compliance policy will serve as a powerful tool that the FDA can use to combat the troubling trend of youth e-cigarette use. We must act swiftly against flavored e-cigarette products that are especially attractive to children. Moreover, if we see a migration to tobacco-flavored products by kids, we will take additional steps to address youth use of these products.”
Azar and Sharpless said the FDA would consider mint and menthol as “flavored” products and would be subject to any flavor ban.
Vapor Voice will continue to cover this story more in-depth in the coming days and in its next issue.