Utah has proposed nine changes to current vaping regulations, including: increasing the age to purchase vaping products to 21; ban the sales of flavoured products or restrict them to permitted tobacco specialty stores; and extend the current tobacco product excise tax to include electronic devices. In 2019, Utah lawmakers also proposed an unreasonable 86.5% tax on vaping products.
The nationwide flavour ban
Meanwhile, the FDA has banned all flavoured nicotine pods with the exception of menthol and tobacco, nationwide. Large, tank-based vaping devices, which are primarily sold in vape shops and cater to adult smokers, have been exempt from the ban, and the new flavour restrictions were explained as follows:
“Beginning 30 days from the publication of the notice (2nd January) of availability of this guidance in the Federal Register, the FDA intends to prioritize enforcement against these illegally marketed ENDS products by focusing on the following groups of products that do not have pre-market authorization:
- Any flavored, cartridge-based ENDS product (other than a tobacco- or menthol-flavored ENDS product);
- All other ENDS products for which the manufacturer has failed to take (or is failing to take) adequate measures to prevent minors’ access; and
- Any ENDS product that is targeted to minors or likely to promote use of ENDS by minors.”
The FDA ban attacked from both sides
The fact that e-liquids have not been included in the ban, has left anti-vaping advocates enraged, saying that this will only lead to youth switching products. While on the other end of the spectrum, the vaping industry keeps pointing out that flavour bans are not the answer, since the devices are used by smokers seeking to quit.
Read Further: 2KUTV
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