FDA Sends Trump New Guidance on Vape Flavor Ban

WASHINGTON—New guidance on flavored e-cigarettes is expected from the Trump Administration as early as tomorrow, the Wall Street Journal reports. Sources familiar with the policy have shared that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) plans to ban the sale of flavored cartridge-based e-cigarettes, with the exception of tobacco and menthol flavors. However, the policy reportedly will still allow the sale of flavored tank vaping systems, which are sold primarily in vape shops.

The FDA sent the new guidance to the White House for review early this week, according to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs website.

President Donald Trump responded to questions about the new policy while in Florida this week. “We’re going to protect our families, we’re going to protect our children, and we’re going to protect the industry,” stated the President. He did not go into the details of the plan but said the ban would be “for a period of time.”

In September, President Trump announced a ban on all flavors with the exception of tobacco, but the President soon backpedaled after pushback from e-cigarette proponents and warning from his political advisors that he could alienate adult users of the products in an election year.

In November, President Trump convened a stakeholder meeting on e-cigarettes at the White House, and NACS President and CEO Henry Armour participated in that meeting on behalf of the convenience industry.

Following the meeting, Armour stated, “I appreciate President Trump bringing stakeholders together today to discuss the best path forward on vaping policy. The convenience industry shares his concern with youth vaping and spends millions of dollars every year to help prevent underage consumers from obtaining these products. There are more than 153,000 convenience stores across the nation, including 95,000 single-store operators. I shared with the President our industry's view that any policy in this area should advance our health goals, be based on data, and apply equally across the economy in order to be effective. We hope and trust the Administration will follow those basic principles.”

Last March, the FDA proposed guidance that would effectively ban convenience stores from selling flavored e-cigarettes, except for tobacco, mint, and menthol flavors, while allowing flavored e-cigarettes to still be sold in adult-only shops like vape shops and on the internet. NACS and SIGMA jointly filed a comment letter to FDA on behalf of the convenience industry strongly opposed the FDA’s proposal allowing certain channels of trade to sell the products while restricting the convenience store channel.

The FDA hasn’t commented further on the new guidance, which is expected to be announced as early as Friday.

Compliance and regulations Tobacco