Trump Backs Off Flavor Ban for Vapes – Do You Support the Reversal?

What’s the story?

• President Donald Trump is reversing course on his plan to ban most flavored e-cigarettes, according to the Washington Post.

What’s the backstory?

• In September, amidst a series of vape-related deaths, the president announced that he was going to seek to ban the sale of all flavored e-cigarettes in an effort to discourage youth vaping.
• "We are going to have to do something about it," Trump said after meeting with health policy advisers, adding that vaping was a "new problem in the country."
• However, soon after announcing his proposed ban, GOP allies began warning the president that it could sink his re-election bid:

“While parents may be concerned about e-cigarettes, the people who genuinely care about vaping as a voting issue so far outweighs the number of people Trump needs to win in 2020 that they are royally screwing themselves by doing this," Paul Blair, the director of strategic initiatives at Americans for Tax Reform, told Axios in late September.

• On November 4, Trump refused to sign a one-page memo that would have removed candy, fruit, and mint flavored vapes from the market within 30 days. A week later, he tweeted:

• “The president saw protesters at events and read critical articles,” the Post wrote. “His campaign manager, Brad Parscale, privately warned the ban could hurt him in battleground states, said a person who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations.”

What’s the reaction?

Vaping proponents are relieved.

“It’s a great feeling in two months to go from thinking that prohibition was inevitable to actually proving that your issue has resonance with voters to such an extent that the president of the United States takes notice,” Greg Conley, president of the American Vaping Association, told the Post.

Anti-tobacco advocates are dismayed.

“It appears that politics, not public health, is driving the decisions,” said Robin Koval, chief executive and president of Truth Initiative.

What do you think?

Do you support a ban on flavored tobacco? Or will teens just turn elsewhere for their products? Take action and tell your reps, then share your thoughts below.

—Josh Herman