Following a surge in teen e-cigarette usage, federal regulators are asking the Supreme Court to uphold its ban on sweet, flavored goods, bringing vaping before the court next week.
More than a million marketing applications for kid-friendly candy or fruit-flavored products have been rejected by the Food and Drug Administration as part of a broader crackdown that supporters claim contributed to the decline in teen vaping following an epidemic-level spike in 2019.
However, vaping businesses claimed the agency unjustly ignored claims that their sugary e-liquids would help adults stop smoking traditional cigarettes without endangering children.
The administration of Republican Donald Trump may adopt a different strategy after he pledged to preserve vaping in a September social media post.
Arguments in the FDA’s appeal of a ruling from the conservative 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals are being heard by the Supreme Court on Monday. The appeals court agreed with Triton Distribution, a Dallas-based corporation, while other courts maintained FDA refusals.
It overturned a ruling that prohibited the sale of nicotine-containing beverages, such as Jimmy the Juice Man in Peachy Strawberry, that are heated by e-cigarettes to produce an aerosol that can be inhaled.
According to Triton, the FDA unfairly altered its regulations without providing adequate notice.
Marc Scheineson, a former FDA assistant commissioner and lawyer who currently represents other tiny electronic tobacco companies, said it sort of pulls the chair away from the applicants.
Even after years of the crackdown, flavored vapes that are legally banned but are nonetheless publicly accessible are still widely available because the FDA was sluggish to regulate the now multibillion-dollar vaping industry. The agency recently permitted its first menthol-flavored electronic cigarettes for adult smokers and has approved a few vapes with tobacco flavors.
According to Dennis Henigan, vice president for legal and regulatory affairs at the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, young people’s nicotine usage has decreased to its lowest level in ten years as a result of the marketing bans and state and federal age-limit enforcement.
The 1.6 million high school students who still vape primarily choose flavored vape goods, so he argues the FDA was explicit in its standards and is afraid of a court ruling that will expand their availability. According to Henigan, “we believe that would be a real harm to public health.”
— The Associated Press’ Lindsay Whitehurst
Note: Every piece of content is rigorously reviewed by our team of experienced writers and editors to ensure its accuracy. Our writers use credible sources and adhere to strict fact-checking protocols to verify all claims and data before publication. If an error is identified, we promptly correct it and strive for transparency in all updates, feel free to reach out to us via email. We appreciate your trust and support!
