CBS, WarnerMedia will no longer run e-cigarette ads

CBS and WarnerMedia, which owns CNN, have decided to pull all e-cigarette advertisements as states across the country and the federal government look to combat vaping-related illnesses and youth vaping.

Amid growing concerns about the mysterious vaping-related illnesses that have inflicted hundreds and killed at least seven, CBS will no longer air e-cigarette advertisements, a spokesman told The Hill on Wednesday.

{mosads}WarnerMedia, which includes channels such as CNN, TNT and TBS, will also remove advertisements for e-cigarettes. CNN told The Daily Beast last week it would stop showing the ads.

“WarnerMedia reserves the right to withdraw advertising from its platforms at its discretion,” spokeswoman Jennifer Toner told CNBC in a statement. “Given warnings from the CDC, the [American Medical Association] and the American Lung Association to consumers, our company has revised its policies regarding e-cigarette advertising, and will no longer accept advertising for this category.”

Toner told CNBC the company will keep track of investigations into the safety of e-cigarettes and may change its mind if new information emerges.

CNBC reported that more than 20 networks have shown Juul ads in the last two weeks.

So far, two states, Michigan and New York, have decided to ban e-cigarettes.

President Trump has decided to get involved to combat teen vaping, saying his administration is aiming to ban all nontobacco flavors of e-cigarettes.