Concerned about the health issues of vaping, the Trump administration announced on Dec. 31 that a ban on sweet- and fruit-flavored e-cigarette pods and cartridges will take effect in 30 days.

Menthol- and tobacco-flavored pods and cartridges will remain on the market, according to a report from The Washington Post, which spoke with an anonymous official in the Trump administration.

The ban,  is not as sweeping as was discussed in September when new numbers pointing to an enormous increase in the number of underage people who vape became published. Back then, the administration spoke of banning all flavors of vaping products, but now, it appears open-tank vaping systems that can use a variety of flavors will still be allowed to make use of flavored e-cigarette liquids.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported finding more than one in four high school students and one in 14 middle school students used tobacco of some kind in the last 30 days in 2018. The use of e-cigarettes increased from 11.7 percent to 20.8 percent among high schoolers between 2017 and 2018.

According to Politico, the White House was warned by industry giants and political advisors not to follow through with a complete ban on all flavored nicotine products because thousands of people could lose their jobs and voters might retaliate at the polls.

Concerned about young people becoming addicted to nicotine and untold side effects of chemicals within vaping liquids, a federal law was passed in December that raised the nationwide age to buy tobacco products up to 21.

Although popular vaping giant Juul has pulled its sweet and minty flavored pods from the U.S. marketplace, health advocates worry that youth will turn to the open tank systems to get their flavored nicotine fixes. Currently, the open tank systems are more popular with the adult crowd.

House Energy and Commerce Chairman Frank Pallone (D-N.J.) issued a press release saying, “A so-called flavor ban that exempts menthol and vape shops is not a ban at all.” His committee passed a more restrictive bill, the Reversing the Youth Tobacco Epidemic Act, in November and is pushing Congress to pass it this year.

Health Advocates Warn of Health Issues of Vaping

NBC News reported in mid-December than the American Journal of Preventive Medicine found that e-cigarettes are associated with an increased risk of chronic lung conditions.

The study looked at 32,000 adults and began in 2013, when none of them had any indications of lung issues. Researchers said when these same adults were examined in 2016, those who had vaped were 30 percent more apt to have developed a chronic lung disease compared to those who didn’t vape. Among the health issues of vaping were asthma, bronchitis and emphysema.

“E-cigarette use predicted the development of lung disease over a very short period of time. It only took three years,” Stanton Glantz told NBC News. Glantz, who is with the Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education of the University of California, San Francisco, authored the study.

Glantz said most adult smokers who vape usually end up using both nicotine delivery systems. When a person uses both regular cigarettes and e-cigarettes, their risk of developing a chronic lung disease is more than tripled, according to the study.

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This article is not legal advice. It is presented 
for informational purposes only.