The US president is at war with flavored electronic cigarettes. Donald Trump announced Wednesday, September 11, that he was considering their ban while they are experiencing increasing success among young Americans.
"It creates a lot of problems," said Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House. Six people died this year of acute lung disease after vaping refills containing THC and other additives being tested, and hundreds more became ill.
At the same time, the health authorities announced the forthcoming ban on flavored liquids, such as menthol, mango or strawberry, not because the flavors are considered harmful in themselves, but because they attract a generation of young people who become addicted to nicotine, erasing years of progress against cigarettes.
One in four high school students
One in four high school students in the United States in 2019, according to an annual public survey, announced the Health Department with preliminary results, compared to one in five in 2017-2018.
Any taste other than tobacco taste will soon be removed from the market, said Health Secretary Alex Azar. The text will appear in "several weeks" and will enter into force 30 days later. Tobacco-flavored products may continue to be sold, but will require marketing approval by May 2020.
"We intend to bring flavored e-cigarettes out of the market in order to reverse the alarming epidemic of e-cigarette use among young people," said Alex Azar. Until now, these products were distributed in a relative laxity. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA, the US Food and Drug Administration) now wants to strictly control the market.
The Minister of Health directly accused the Obama administration of leaving manufacturers free in the hope that smokers would start vaping instead, with vaping being considered a less harmful method, comparable to patches and nicotine gums.
With AFP