Several flavored vaping products will be taken off the market due to a new e-cigarette policy that goes into effect today.
Back in September, the Trump administration announced that they were working on a “flavor ban” or a policy that would strip all flavors from e-cigarettes except tobacco from the U.S. market. Over the next several months, Trump officials faced criticism from lawmakers and health groups for not finalizing the policy.
The final policy was announced on January 2, but critics are calling it “hollowed-out” because of the number of exceptions or loopholes found in the ban.
In a statement, Matthew L. Myers, president of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, said that “thousands of flavored e-cigarette products” remain available. He also added that this will not stop youth from becoming addicted to e-cigarettes.
According to the Food and Drug Administration, the new policy intends to prioritize enforcement resources, meaning that decisions will be made on a case-by-case basis to take action against illegally marketed tobacco products. The FDA will go after products commonly used among children and cartridge-based vaping products in flavors instead of tobacco and menthol.
However, the policy does not include disposable vapes, or open-tank systems that come with their respective e-liquids.