According to reports from the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal, the Food and Drug Administration is set to ban all flavoured vape pods—with only two exceptions: menthol and tobacco.
Essentially, the idea behind the potential ban is to push back against the rise of vaping amongst the youth, with brands like JUUL being accused of marketing their their products of being a “healthy” alternative to traditional cigarettes, with the fun-sounding flavours available also relatively appealing to teenagers.
However, the ban doesn’t apply to all forms of e-cigarettes. Flavours for open tank systems, that use “mods” that have interchangeable tanks will still be available—pods are believed to be more popular with the youth.
The flavours are to be banned only for a “period of time”, with the possibility that they will be legalised again in the future. According to The Verge, Trump was quoted as saying:
“We have to protect our families/ At the same time, it’s a big industry, we want to protect the industry.”
Cause of lung disease found, but…
The CDC has already confirmed that a dietary supplement, vitamin E acetate, is the responsible element for the recent vape-related lung disease. As previously discussed, this is an additive used as a thickening agent in THC-containing e-liquids.
However, that’s not to say that vaping is without its dangers (besides the unwanted additive). Right now, much of the attention has been on the lung disease and its causes, along with the advertising ethics of manufacturers in marketing their products.
However, we certainly need more oversight for the e-cigarette industry—much like how the tobacco industry is tightly regulated. More research, for starters, is essential to better understand the long term effects of vaping, and if it is a viable alternative to cigarettes.
[ VIA ]
