Trump expected to announce limited vaping ban this week
President Trump is expected to announced a ban on certain flavors of cartridge-based e-cigarettes while reportedly exempting the types of devices most commonly found in vape shops.
Trump is slated to make the announcement on Friday, according to two sources familiar with the matter.
Speaking on Tuesday night in Mar-a-Lago, Trump said action is forthcoming.
“The vaping [decision] is coming out,” he said. “We’re going to announce it soon.”
“The flavors are going to be checked,” Trump added. “We have to protect the children. We have to protect the families.”
The Wall Street Journal and Washington Post reported earlier Tuesday night that the vaping ban wold be limited in scope.
The administration will strip the market of every pod flavor except tobacco and menthol, the Journal reported. Pod products, such as those manufactured by Juul and NJOY, are the most popular with teens.
The move by the administration is meant to combat a surge in youth vaping. Trump and top health officials first announced a complete ban on vaping flavors and devices in September, but the president has wavered for months about whether to follow through.
He reportedly scrapped the earlier policy after being warned of potential political consequences. During a tense meeting at the White House with vaping industry representatives and anti-tobacco advocates in November, Trump signaled he was walking back the long-delayed proposal amid concerns from campaign advisers and pro-vaping groups over job losses.
Vaping advocates and Trump political allies had been pushing the administration to exempt mint and menthol flavors from its earlier ban.
Juul has dominated the e-cigarette market with its sleek, flash drive-shaped devices, and the popularity of its fruity flavors has led public health experts and federal health officials to blame the company for the teen vaping “epidemic.”
Anticipating a potential ban, Juul earlier this year pulled all of its fruit flavors from the market. It continues to sell tobacco and menthol.
The forthcoming move by the administration would essentially be a compromise between the two camps.
A measure included in the year-end spending bill signed by Trump will ban sales of tobacco products to anyone under the age of 21. That move was backed by the tobacco industry, which had hopes of avoiding any more serious regulation.
Brett Samuels contributed.
Updated at 10:20 p.m.