The federal government’s new policy on flavor-based electronic cigarettes that went into the market in February is more relaxed than the total ban on flavor electronic cigarettes, which the president announced in September 2019 to stop the rising trend of young people smoking e-cigarettes. It restricts flavors to particular e-cigarettes, resulting in numerous loopholes and restrictions.
A new Food and Drug Administration policy does not prohibit flavors. Still, there is an exception for the well-known flavor menthol in e-cigarettes that use closed-system cartridges for e-liquids. This means that menthol flavors are available across all formats, such as JUUL pods, and any flavor-infused liquid nicotine, such as Gummy bears and cotton candy found in disposables and refillable cartridges, are still in the market. Disposables, such as Puff Bars, might be a growing electronic cigarette due to their wide range of flavors, including O.M.G. (orange mango, guava, mango) and sour apple.
Several public health groups, including Truth Initiative (r) and Truth Initiative (r), have been critical of the new vaping law to put politics and profits over the health of our children. “This policy is a huge win for JUUL and other e-cigarette companies who have aggressively marketed highly addictive tobacco products to kids knowing full well the negative impact nicotine has on the developing brain,” said Robin Koval, C.E.O. and president of Truth Initiative.
The evidence suggests that flavors are the primary factor in the youth e-cigarette epidemic. 97% of youngsters who smoke vape use flavor products. The new policy will mean that youngsters can still purchase sweet and candy-flavored liquids for e-cigarettes at all tobacco retailers until the F.D.A. starts its review process in May. The exclusion of menthol — an e-cigarette flavor that, like mint flavor, 63.9 percent of teens who uses students who used e-cigarettes reported using in the year 2019 — will allow the manufacturers of e-cigarettes to change the name of mint products to menthol.
Truth Initiative continues to demand the administration strongly, and F.D.A. reconsiders their policy and limits access to all flavored electronic cigarettes at all retail outlets until the completion of a pre-market review mandated by law.
