U.S. health officials will begin cracking down on most
flavored e-cigarettes that are popular with underage teenagers, but their plan
includes major exceptions that benefit vaping manufacturers, retailers and
adults who use the nicotine-delivery devices.
The Trump administration announced Thursday that it
will prohibit fruit, candy, mint and dessert flavors from small,
cartridge-based e-cigarettes favored by high school and middle school students.
But menthol and tobacco-flavored e-cigarettes will be allowed to remain on the
market.
The targeted flavor ban will also entirely exempt
large, tank-based vaping devices, which are primarily sold in vape shops that
cater to adult smokers.
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 nicotine flavors.
Vape shop owners expressed relief following the
announcement.
“We’re thankful the guidance doesn’t shut down flavors
in every aspect,” said Spike Babaian, owner of VapeNY in New York City.
Anti-tobacco advocates immediately condemned the
decision to permit menthol and exempt tank-based vapes, accusing the
administration of caving to industry pressure.
“It’s disturbing to see the results of industry
lobbying to undermine public health protections, especially the lives and
health of our youth,” said American Lung Association President and CEO Harold
Wimmer. The association and other health groups argue that teenagers who vape
will simply shift to using menthol if it remains on the market.
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 traditional 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. No e-cigarettes have
yet won FDA approval, but the agency permits their sale under a policy called
“enforcement discretion.” Under Thursday's policy change, the FDA said it would
begin targeting companies that continue to sell the targeted products.
Companies will have 30 days after the policy is published to halt
manufacturing, sales and shipping.
“We have to protect our families,” Trump told reporters
on 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. The small, discrete devices are the most popular brand
among underage users.
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 some 15,000 to 19,000 shops.
The new policy still 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. 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.
“As we got better data on the flavors, we modified our
thinking,” Azar said.
Survey data published in November reported that less
than 6% of teens picked menthol as their top choice for vaping. In contrast,
mint was the most popular flavor among sophomores and seniors.
Incoming FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn said the
government's approach attempts to balance the problem of underage vaping with
“the potential role that e-cigarettes may play in helping adult smokers
transition completely away” from regular cigarettes.
When Trump officials first sketched out their plans at
a White House event in September, they specifically 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.
Industry groups including the Vapor Technology
Association launched an aggressive social media campaign — #IVapeIVote —
contending that the plan would force the closure of vaping shops, eliminating
jobs and sending users of e-cigarettes back to traditional smokes.
Trump's initial announcement came amid an outbreak of
unexplained lung illnesses tied to vaping. But since then, health officials
have tied the vast majority of the cases to a contaminating filler added to
illicit THC vaping liquids. THC is the chemical in marijuana that makes users
feel high. Makers of legal nicotine-based vaping products have tried to
distance themselves from the problem.
FDA officials said Thursday they will continue
targeting vaping products that appeal to underage users in other ways, such as
packaging that mimics juice boxes, cereal or kid-friendly snacks.
Administration officials also pledged to work with the
industry ahead of a looming deadline that manufacturers say threatens their
products. The FDA is scheduled to begin reviewing all e-cigarettes in May. Only
those that can demonstrate a benefit for U.S. public health will be permitted
to stay on the market.
Officials noted that products submitted by the deadline
that don't appeal to kids will be permitted to remain on the market for up to
one year pending FDA review. They also clarified that some vape flavors could
return to the market if they can win FDA approval.
Trump suggested ahead of the announcement that the
flavor restrictions might be temporary.
“Hopefully, if everything’s safe, they’re going to be
going very quickly back onto the market," he told reporters at his
Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida
