By Madeline Ramirez, Staff Writer
President Donald Trump has waged war on the e-cigarette, shaking the industry with comments he made in a White House briefing in September.
“We are looking at vaping strongly. It’s very dangerous, children have died and people have died. We’re going to have some very strong rules and regulations,” he stated.
Vaping is currently regulated under the FDA similarly to tobacco, but Congress is considering an all-out ban on vaping due to the health ramifications.
“We don’t really know the health consequences of these devices,” said New York Governor and ban proponent Andrew Cuomo when interviewed by TIME magazine.
But the consequences are ramping up. Earlier this year many e-cigarette users were checked into hospitals, according to the Associated Press, with symptoms including respiratory issues, vomiting, and fatigue. Patients also report symptoms similar to pneumonia. The disease itself has been coined as EVALI by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, a term inspired by e-cigarettes and devices. As of Oct. 18, a total of 33 people have died from EVALI, along with 1,479 currently diagnosed. CDC Principal Deputy Director Anne Schuchat said at a House Energy and Commerce hearing in Washington, D.C., “This is extremely complicated. It’s fatal or potentially fatal with half of the cases requiring intensive care.”
Proponents of the ban also claim that the industry targets children and teens. According to the State Health Department, minors’ usage of e-cigarettes within the states has surged. A troubling 40% of high school seniors and 27% of high school students use e-cigarettes. This is unsettling to the many politicians pushing for a ban. Oregon Senator Jeff Merkley told CNBC, “Vaping companies have hooked millions of our children on nicotine using e-cigarette flavors like ‘gummy bear,’ ‘scooby snacks’ and ‘strawberries and cream.’ This means massive health consequences for the next generation, and we have to end this addiction crisis.”
But opponents of the ban are fighting to keep vaping legal, asserting e-cigarettes help smokers wean themselves from tobacco use. A French study on the effects of vaping found that vaping provides limited aid to smoking addicts in lowering their cigarette consumption.
Some industry members claim the White House’s proposals trample their rights as participants of the free market. Albany vape shop owner Mike Kruger has vouched for the vaping industry, stating in an interview with TIME that a ban would close a multitude of businesses. “We are bypassing the legislative process,” Kruger said. Many figures of the industry prosper off the regulated sale of vaping products, and eliminating the practice would disrupt the entire enterprise.
Opponents of the ban say the use of cigarettes and tobacco induces worse consequences on the human body than e-cigarettes. The CDC states that smoking causes almost a fifth of deaths in the United States each year, leading opponents to question why the cigarette industry hasn’t received an all out ban from Congress.
The vaping battle has claimed other victims as well. Kevin Burns resigned as CEO of Juul Labs last month. But the company regrouped and hired tobacco industry veteran K.C. Crosthwaite to run the company, signaling the e-cigarette industry is not going to go down without a fight.
