Voice of America
12 Sep 2019, 02:35 GMT+10
WHITE HOUSE - "People are dying with vaping," including children, U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday as his administration announced it hopes to snuff out most flavors sold in the country for electronic cigarette devices.
The president held an Oval office meeting Wednesday about e-cigarettes after at least six people died and hundreds more nationwide were sickened in the last several months by mysterious illnesses linked to vaping.
Physicians say many of the ill patients may have vaped cannabis-related products, while others reported also using e-cigarettes.
"Vaping has become a very big business as I understand it," said Trump. "It's not a wonderful thing, it's got big problems."
E-cigarettes are touted as a safer alternative for cigarette smokers addicted to nicotine. But the illnesses - along with marketing of flavored products attracting millions of minors to the habit - have caused alarm.
The president stated that vaping is a strong concern in his own household, which includes 13-year-old Barron.
"She's got a son," said Trump, sitting next to his wife, Melania. "She feels very, very strongly about it. She's seen it."
Also in the Oval Office for the discussion were Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar and the acting commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, Ned Sharpless.
"Data just shows that kids are getting access to these products despite our best efforts at enforcement," said Azar, speaking later to reporters. "So, we simply have to remove these attractive flavored products from the marketplace."
Azar noted those flavored pods include mint, menthol, bubblegum and mango.
According the health secretary, the FDA intends to finalize enforcement guidance, requiring sales of any flavored e-cigarette products - not including tobacco flavor - be halted until manufacturers secure approval under the Tobacco Control Act.
"We want the tobacco flavored e-cigarettes to remain available for adults who may be using e-cigarettes to be off of combustible tobacco," explained Azar. "But if we find the children start surging into tobacco flavored e-cigarettes, or we find marketing practices that target children to try to drive the market share in tobacco-flavored products, we will engage in enforcement actions there also."
Some state and city governments already have taken action. Michigan this week became the first state to ban sales of flavored e-cigarettes. Other states, including California, Massachusetts and New York, are considering similar regulations.
The city of San Francisco, in California, earlier in the year approved a ban on all e-cigarettes.
The dominant player in the multi-billion-dollar industry in the United States, Juul Labs, is seeking to reverse the city's ban through a ballot initiative in November.
VOA contacted Juul, which is headquartered in San Francisco, for comment about Wednesday's announcement at the White House. A company spokesman said Juul will soon be issuing a statement.
Juul was sent a warning letter by the FDA on Monday, accusing it of violating federal regulations by promoting vaping products as a healthier option than cigarettes.
Scientists say there is little evidence, however, that e-cigarettes are helping those addicted to nicotine kick the habit.
Get a daily dose of Business Sun news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Business Sun.
More InformationWASHINGTON, D.C.: A federal rule designed to make it easier for Americans to cancel subscriptions has been blocked by a U.S. appeals...
BASTROP, Texas: In a surprising turn at Elon Musk's X platform, CEO Linda Yaccarino announced she is stepping down, just months after...
NEW YORK CITY, New York: Former British prime minister Rishi Sunak will return to Goldman Sachs in an advisory role, the Wall Street...
LONDON, U.K.: Physically backed gold exchange-traded funds recorded their most significant semi-annual inflow since the first half...
NEW YORK, New York - U.S. stocks rebounded Tuesday with all the major indices gaining ground. Markets in the UK, Europe and Canada...
NEW YORK CITY, New York: Financial markets kicked off the week on a cautious note as President Donald Trump rolled out a fresh round...
BASTROP, Texas: In a surprising turn at Elon Musk's X platform, CEO Linda Yaccarino announced she is stepping down, just months after...
WASHINGTON, D.C.: An elaborate impersonation scheme involving artificial intelligence targeted senior U.S. and foreign officials in...
CULVER CITY, California: TikTok is preparing to roll out a separate version of its app for U.S. users, as efforts to secure a sale...
WASHINGTON, D.C.: The U.S. government has granted GE Aerospace permission to resume jet engine shipments to China's COMAC, a person...
Nearly 2,000 jobs in the executive branch dealing with foreign policy are reportedly on the chopping block The US State Department...
New Delhi [India], July 11 (ANI): The recall of Chinese employees from the Foxconn India factory, which manufactures Apple iPhones,...