CEO DATELINE - Vaping industry groups push back at proposed ban
CEO DATELINE - Vaping industry groups push back at proposed ban
- September 12, 2019 |
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Walt Williams
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The Trump administration plans to ban e-cigarette companies from selling flavored products—a move that one association representing the industry called "misguided."
President Donald Trump announced the proposed ban Wednesday as part of a larger effort to curb the rise in vaping among young people. The decision also came after several illnesses and deaths have been linked to the use of e-cigarettes.
"Vaping has become a very big business, as I understand it, but we can't allow people to get sick and allow our youth to be so affected," Trump told reporters, according to NPR. https://n.pr/2meaxwp
The Vapor Technology Association pushed back in a statement, calling the move misguided because flavored vaping products are an effective way to help people kick tobacco use. It also disputed the alleged link between vaping and the recent rash of illnesses.
"Banning flavors would be a public health travesty," the association said. "More than two million Americans have died from cigarette smoking-related illnesses over the last five years. If a federal flavor ban is enacted, more than 10 million adults will be forced to choose between smoking again … or finding what they want and need on the black market."
Also weighing in was the American Vaping Association, which said it was "deeply disappointed" by the removal of "life-changing options from the market."
"In the history of the United States, prohibition has never worked," AVA President Gregory Conley said in a statement. "It didn't work with alcohol. It hasn't worked with marijuana. It won't work with e-cigarettes."
Medical groups were warning the public to avoid e-cigarettes even before the ban was announced. The American Medical Association in particular has raised concerns about the use of nicotine in vaping products. In a statement Monday the AMA said increasing awareness about the health effects of e-cigarettes "is the only way to prevent another generation of Americans from developing nicotine dependence."
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