The most commonly used e-liquid flavours by adults in the US, are fruit/fruit beverage at 82.9%.
DeGette’s office announced the legislation last week and it is expected to be introduced to the House of Representatives in the coming days. “To me, there is no legitimate reason to sell any product with names such as cotton candy or tutti frutti, unless you are trying to market it to children,” DeGette, a Democrat, said in a statement Monday. “Most experts agree that the kid-friendly flavors that e-cigarette manufacturers are selling with these products are one of the leading causes of this spike in use among our high school and middle school students.”
On the other hand, while one may argue that calling e-liquids names such as the above mentioned could be avoided, there is irrefutable data indicating that banning the flavours altogether could have a detrimental effect on adult smoking rates. In line with previous research on the topic, a recent large scale peer reviewed study published in the Harm Reduction Journal, had confirmed that restricting e-liquid flavours may discourage smokers from switching to the proven safer alternatives that could save their life.
Majority of adult vapers prefer flavours
This study was conducted by the Centre for Substance Use Research (CSUR) and gathered data from over 20,000 adult frequent vapers in the United States. The results had indicated that the most commonly used e-liquid flavours in the US are fruit/fruit beverage at 82.9%, whilst the second most popular kind are dessert/pastry flavours at 68.5%.
“The data suggest that U.S. vapers’ journeys towards quitting smoking are increasingly likely to start with, progress to, or be sustained by frequent use of vaping devices containing non-tobacco flavours”, said lead researcher Dr Christopher Russell.
On the other hand, if DeGette’s bill is passed, e-liquid flavours will be banned within a year, unless their manufacturers are able to prove to the FDA, that they are not contributing to the rise in teen vaping. Clearly ignoring the number of scientific studies already available on the topic, the bill would also require companies to show that flavors are instrumental in helping smokers quit cigarettes.
Read Further: CNN
