Ban flavored vaping

Trump was right to initially call for the restriction; backing off that vow was an error.

President Donald Trump was right in calling for a ban on flavored e-cigarettes in the face of a growing public health problem affecting young people. But two months later, that push seems to have stalled — lost in a haze of pressure from lobbyists and political concerns — even as data shows that vaping among teens has reached alarming levels.

On Sept. 11, the president, flanked by first lady Melania Trump and Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar, spoke out against the dangers of vaping from the Oval Office, saying, “We can’t have our youth be affected.”

Contrast that firm resolve with a tweet last week, which said Trump would be “meeting with representatives of the vaping industry, together with medical professionals and individual state representatives, to come up with an acceptable solution to the vaping and E-cigarette dilemma.”

This flip-flop is unacceptable. When it comes to teens and vaping, the word to describe it isn’t dilemma — it’s crisis.

Although cigarette smoking is at an all-time low, more than 5 million teens are using e-cigarettes, a jump from the more than 3.6 million reported in 2018. In eighth grade, 1 out of 11 students had vaped; by 12th grade that number is 1 in 4.

Decades of research show that smoking causes cancer, heart disease, stroke and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. There are no comparable data related to vaping, but while e-cigarettes don’t produce cigarettes’ toxic smoke cloud, they contain other potentially cancer-causing chemicals.

They also encourage nicotine addiction, as some cartridges contain as much nicotine as a pack of 20 cigarettes. Nicotine can hurt brain development in young users and often leads to smoking.

While banning flavored e-cigarettes won’t keep teenagers from vaping, young people cite the use of flavors as one of the main reasons they vape. Among current e-cigarette users, more than 70 percent of high school students used flavored e-cigarettes, according to a government study. Fruit, menthol or mint, candy, desserts or other sweets are the most commonly reported flavors.

On Tuesday, the American Medical Association called for a total ban on e-cigarettes and vaping products that aren’t approved by the FDA as tools to quit smoking, citing their use by teens and the lung illness outbreak that sickened more than 1,000 people around the country and led to at least 33 deaths. That outbreak has been linked to bootleg THC e-cigarettes, but the cause is still under investigation.

Banning all vaping products unrelated to medical use would no doubt help save lives and improve health, but focusing on the marketing of e-cigarettes to teenagers is a smart first step.

That way, we’d be treating vaping as we do smoking. It can be taxed, regulated and stigmatized, and — like a lot of other dangerous things that fall under personal choice — adults can evaluate the risk and take responsibility for themselves.

But until they’re old enough to make that choice, teenagers depend on us to protect them. That’s why it’s already illegal to buy cigarettes of any kind if you are under 18.

So far, reporting indicates Trump changed his mind after he was told that banning flavored e-cigarettes would lead to job losses and a negative reaction by supporters who vape.

His administration would not be the first to blink when confronted by a possible economic and political backlash. Four years ago, the FDA’s attempt to ban flavored vaping was killed by lobbyists and evidence to support the ban was suppressed, according to the Los Angeles Times.

It is unconscionable that economic and political concerns have taken precedence over protecting our kids’ health. Where the Obama administration failed, Trump has a chance to succeed by doing the right thing.

We already ban flavored cigarettes; e-cigarettes should be no different.