Trump plans to curb teen vaping, exempts some flavours

WASHINGTON (AP) — United States health officials will ban most flavoured e-cigarettes popular with underage teenagers, but with 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 flavours from small, cartridge-based e-cigarettes that are popular with high school students. But menthol and tobacco-flavoured e-cigarettes will be allowed to remain on the market.

The flavour 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 flavours — including menthol — from all types of e-cigarettes.

The new policy will preserve a significant portion of the multibillion-dollar vaping market.

And the changes are likely to please both the largest e-cigarette manufacturer, Juul Labs, and thousands of vape shop owners who sell the tank-based systems, which allow users to mix customised flavours.

E-cigarettes are battery-powered devices that typically heat a flavoured 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 regulating 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 US public health will be permitted to stay on the market.

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