Ever since e-cigarettes began surging in popularity, they have posed a vexing problem: These nicotine-delivery devices may help some adults quit smoking, which is more dangerous than vaping, but also may addict nonsmokers to nicotine, especially curious teenagers. The Trump administration took a major step last week to reduce the appeal to young nonsmokers. The hope is that the move will not also lead fewer adult smokers to quit.
Flanked by Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar and first lady Melania Trump, President Donald Trump announced that the Food and Drug Administration would ban flavored e-cigarette products from the market--except those that taste like tobacco smoke. Research backs the common-sense assumption that differently flavored vaping fluids--mango, mint, cotton candy--appeal to high schoolers unused to tobacco's harsh taste. Current smokers seeking alternatives, meanwhile, would still have vaping liquids in a taste to which they have become accustomed.
The move is an implicit admission that the FDA's efforts to date have not done enough to arrest youth vaping.
E-cigarettes do appear to have substantial appeal to smokers seeking alternatives. A study published in January found that smokers who were given e-cigarettes were more likely to successfully stop smoking combustible cigarettes than those given nicotine patches or gums. Drug-based smoking-cessation products are also an effective option, but there is no doubt a class of people for whom vaping is the best off-ramp. And some of them might be less interested without a variety of flavor options.
This might not be the end of the road for flavored e-cigarette products. Manufacturers can apply next year to regain access to the U.S. market; they would have to convince the FDA that their products protect public health. This means FDA regulators must still consider whether there is a way to market flavored e-liquids exclusively to those who should have access to them. In the meantime, they should move forward with banning flavored cigars, too.
Editorial on 09/17/2019