As it turns out, the vaping industry is engaged in a fierce campaign to expand the menu of flavor options available to commercial vapers. They appear to be winning the battle. Here’s a summary:
FDA move on flavored vapes rattles public health experts
Flavors like coffee and mint could be on the table for authorization, per new FDA draft guidance.
To date, FDA authorization has been limited to tobacco and menthol flavored vapes, mimicking cigarettes, while other flavors, mainly fruit and candy, are prohibited. The reason: Sweet flavors mostly attract kids.
By way of context: The nation has already experienced a crisis involving a spike in the number of underage vape users, and health experts would like to avoid another one. It’s unlikely the FDA would completely reverse field, but the industry thinks the current Administration may be open to a compromise: a middle ground where flavors such as mint and cinnamon amd coffee would be approved on the grounds that they would attract mostly adult smokers, and encourage them to switch from cigarettes to a less harmful form of nicotine use.
At least that’s the rationale presented by a trade group, the American Vapor Manufacturers.
It may help to remember that unlike Kools, Marlboro and the like, a substantial majority of electronic cigarettes sold in America are actually illegal— despite the fact they’re widely available online and on the counter at a wide range of convenience stores, gas stations, and roadside travel plazas.
Then there’s the explosive growth in the popularity of nicotine pouches, many of which have already been approved by the FDA and are now available in flavored form.
Is this a trend towards liberalization of the rules? If it is, expect some pushback from health experts, armed with data.
After considerable effort, the youth vaping rate appears to be going in the right direction– downwards– and nobody in the public health field wants to see that reverse itself, to climb once again.
The vaping industry, however, is likely to feel differently. There’s money involved.
