FDA Moves to Ban Flavored E-Cigarettes

By Cole Kretlow
National News Writer

This past Wednesday, President Trump announced that his administration will push towards the banning of flavored vaping products in the wake of the popularity of these products continuing to rise and reports of illnesses and deaths tied to vaping beginning to surface.

President Trump stated his concern after speaking with Acting Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Norman Sharpless and Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar, saying that the U.S. “can’t allow people to get sick and allow our youth to be so affected.” The FDA has announced plans to finalize a policy in the upcoming weeks that will result in many non-tobacco flavored e-cigarettes to be removed from the market.

Vaping has become increasingly controversial within the U.S. This topic has raised a litany of questions for citizens to debate, such as: Will e-cigarettes put an end to big tobacco? Do e-cigarettes have the potential to decrease smoking-related diseases, like lung cancer? Are they the lesser of two evils – or an equally deadly evil?

Kyle Doerfler, owner of Liquid Nicotine Wholesalers, first created the product to decrease smokers’ cigarette consumption. While trail blazers in the e-cigarette industry, like Doerfler, support the notion that vaping acts as a potentially safer alternative to cigarettes, critics insist that a new generation of nicotine addicts was ushered in with the rise of popular vaping companies. E-cigarette ads, with their flashy colors and attractive models, appear to target a young audience.

Statistics showing the rise in youth e-cigarette usage is evidence enough that the industry has hit this target. Vaping had already jumped dramatically among high school students between 2017 and 2018, rising to nearly 21 percent of high schoolers. But when more than a quarter of high school kids used e-cigarettes in 2019, according to HHS, the popularity of the products as well as the potential threat it poses to the next generation became apparent to the administration and the FDA.

The FDA views the “child friendly” flavors, such as mango or mint, to be the main issue, while tobacco flavored products will still be allowed, as they are intended for adults. Acting FDA Commissioner Ned Sharpless, said in an official statement, “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”.

Paul Billings, national senior vice president of advocacy at the American Lung Association, has also claimed credit for this first step to limit vaping, saying that his group and others sued the FDA to force regulation of vaping products. He suspects the recent outbreak of serious lung disease among vapers has finally put these problems in the spotlight.

However, as e-cigarette usage continues to gain popularity among teens and college students, so do the calls for a total vape ban. Due to this backlash, the outlawing of all vaping products may be seen in the near future if the current epidemic continues.

Contact Cole at cole.kretlow@student.shu.edu