Federal health officials said Thursday that the Food and Drug Administration is banning a range of flavored e-cigarette products, including fruit and mint, although menthol and tobacco-flavored pods will still be available. The decision comes amid an epidemic of teenagers vaping, but is a major compromise from the Trump administration's previous promise to ban all flavors.
Health officials from the FDA and the Department of Health and Human Services said at a press conference that he action is targeted against e-cigarette products with disposable cartridges filled with liquid nicotine that appeal most to kids Beginning in early February, companies will not be allowed to manufacture, distribute or sell unauthorized flavored cartridge-based e-cigarettes, HHS Secretary Alex Azar said.
The FDA will focus on restricting access to flavored e-cigarettes cartridges and will be monitoring e-cigarette companies that fail to adequately prevent youth access to their products.
