Edited by: JV Staff
Just as the Trump administration bakes a ban on flavored e-cigarettes amid a nationwide outbreak of vaping-related sicknesses and deaths, NY Senator Charles Schumer is sounding the alarm on an already-known loophole companies could use to work around a ban. Schumer said it is widely public that companies may be able to reintroduce their flavors at a later date, so long as they submit a formal application and receive Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval. Schumer says the looming ban rule could have other exemptions that water down the desired intent, too. He demanded the FDA do this right the first time and make any exemptions very tight.
“There is no doubt that as the FDA finalizes a ban on kid-friendly e-cigs that the agency will be met with intense pressure by the industry to water it down as much as possible, so the message to the FDA today is: do not cave,” said Senator Charles Schumer. “If we are going to tackle the all-out epidemic of youth vaping and the flavor explosion fueling addiction and related health issues, the feds cannot go vanilla on a flavor ban. They have to get it right the first time. And that means limiting and tightening exemptions so companies can’t escape the intent of the policy and bring us right back to square one months down the road.”
Schumer, who has a long history of railing against e-cig flavor trapping, has even stood with NY teens who detailed their addictions, and says that if the feds want this plan to actually work, they need to restrict the possibility of getting around it. Schumer made his case while detailing the most egregious flavors that should never be allowed on any shelf, no exceptions or exemptions.
“Bubble gum, cookies and cream, gummy bear, a medley of fruits, candies, and mints have one purpose when combined with an e-cig: hook kids,” Schumer added. “Those flavors shouldn’t be on shelves, and so the federal ban needs to be framed around that premise or it won’t be as effective, and it will easily circumvent local bans that states are proposing and passing.”
E-cigarettes are battery-operated devices that are designed to resemble traditional cigarettes. E-cigarettes contain a mechanism inside the device that heats up liquid nicotine and turns it into a vapor that users then inhale and exhale. Unlike conventional cigarettes, however, e-cigarettes do not contain tobacco, a key difference that has led some to deem e-cigarettes safer to smoke. Yet, not all health risks are known, and some studies have highlighted the dangers of e-cigarettes. Moreover, youth who use a tobacco product, like e-cigarettes, are more likely to go on to use other tobacco products, like conventional cigarettes, according to experts.
Earlier this year, Schumer was successful in a push to get the outgoing FDA Commissioner to take action on kid-friendly e-cig flavors domestically.
