Trump Administration Imposes Ban on Flavored Vape Pens

The ongoing trend of flavored vapes and e-cigarettes has risen at a great and equally frightening rate in the United States. These particular tobacco products have gained massive popularity from adults, but their larger consumers are mostly teenagers.

Now this is the main concern when it comes to the overall traction that the vape industry gets when talking about the teenage demographic. The consumption of vape products by this teenage demographic is becoming an even more concerning situation, since vaping causes a multitude of severe health issues, especially to teens. As research shows it gets them addicted to nicotine which can cause cardiovascular issues, as well as increase their probabilities of heart attacks, with an 85 percent that they will smoke again, as detailed by the CDC.

A recent outbreak that sparked controversy and led to President Trump’s eventual proposal for a vape ban was a recent lung injury, that health professionals claimed was directly correlated with these vaping products. There have been an estimated 373 cases reporting the effects of what is thought to be a result of chemical exposure, which although not entirely proven, was the natural first interpretation due to the fact that everyone that suffered this injury had been previously exposed to products with nicotine or THC (the chemical responsible for most of marijuana’s psychological effects). However, there has not been a constant product in all cases, nor have any of them been conclusively linked to lung disease in patients.

This is a newly discovered problem, and that means that not all the information on full effects and causes are completely confirmed. A big reason why it still has not been classified as a completely established case is because these certain situations are handled differently than other nationwide issues. 

The ordinary process is usually given to state investigators to research by examining the medical records of suspected cases and consulting with the clinical care team to exclude other possible causes of illness. However, those are considered nationally reportable conditions, while circumstances that are mostly centered around examining a certain person’s background and individual behaviors, are handled by clinicians and public health professionals. This basically means that there will be more tests and updates on the situation in the coming weeks. 

The truly scary statistic about this outbreak is that according to another CDC survey conducted around the country, only 17 percent of the lung injuries reported were from people over the age of 35. In fact, over half of the people suffering from it are minors. With 38 percent being people under 21 and an alarming 16 percent over the age of 18.

All these reported predicaments, as mentioned before, resulted in government action being taken. After the president’s proposal for a federal ban on vapes, individual states began to take action with Michigan, Massachusetts, and Washington D.C. banning flavored vapes. Vape shops and companies can be held largely accountable for the surge of youth vaping as it is believed that new pitches for releasing flavors such as bubblegum and even cotton candy were directed with the goal of targeting teenagers and minors in general.

Now the main concern is how these laws are actually going to be enforced. In asking 10 students from Ferguson if they had seen these products in possession (of minors) once in their lives, all of them responded with a yes. This indicates that it is going to be a very grueling process for states to enforce their regulations.

If Michigan, which was the first state to implement the ban, is at all an indicator, then this is a work in progress. One of the main topics discussed in this ban is that the sale of vapes is that they cannot describe their product as “safer,” “cleaner,” or under the assumption that they are healthier. Without concrete evidence on the health effects of companies’ tobacco products, these advertising techniques would technically be considered false marketing is a main discussion point when it comes to situations involving vape companies. The state’s governor also set a temporary ordinance that made it illegal to sell flavored vapes through the internet or retail. Again, this is until it is proven that these substances do not cause serious or even fatal harm to the bodies of the consumers. 

Still, there are some questions or doubts about how effective these rules may be. For example, even with the legal ways of selling vapes being banned, there are still ways that people could get away with selling them illegally. Especially since the state gave a two week time period for vendors to potentially stock up and find a way to strategically sell them outside the law. Another case is how tobacco product companies will respond to this. Some companies such as JUUL have decided to adhere to the new regulations and not advertise in the United States. However, it is reported that lesser known vape shops and tobacco product companies will start selling on the “black market” which also coincides with new “under the table” dealings that government officials will most likely be forced to investigate.

Nevertheless, these newly set prohibitions on vapes were long overdue. As the situation was getting out of hand, with it essentially reaching the point where minors were purchasing and using a product potentially causing multiple severe ailments. Especially with the fact that it was just proven to be fatal. Overall, this was a step in the right direction towards one of the biggest and most complicated ongoing issues in the United States.