|
 "Will be meeting with representatives of the Vaping industry,
together with medical professionals and individual state
representatives, to come up with an acceptable solution to the
Vaping and E-cigarette dilemma. Children’s health & safety, together
with jobs, will be a focus!" he wrote on Twitter.
Trump did not give a time for the meeting or offer any other
details. He said on Friday that his administration would come out
with "an important position" on vaping this week.
On Thursday, the CDC reported there have been 2,051 confirmed and
probable U.S. lung injury cases and 39 deaths associated with use of
e-cigarettes, or vaping products. Nearly 85 percent of lung injury
patients in the nationwide outbreak have reported using products
containing THC, the component of marijuana that gets people high.
In the CDC analysis, THC was detected in 23 of 28 patient samples of
lung cells, including from three patients who said they did not use
THC products. Nicotine was detected in 16 of 26 patient samples.
U.S. public health officials have recommended that people avoid
using e-cigarettes that contain THC or any products that come from
illicit sources.
The Trump administration in September said the Food and Drug
Administration was working on a "guidance document" that would lead
to a ban of all e-cigarette flavors, aside from tobacco flavoring.
[to top of second column] |
Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar told reporters that
once the guidance was finalized, enforcement actions would begin to
remove the products from store shelves.
In his remarks on Friday, Trump indicated that a flavor ban was
still under consideration, but that other actions were as well,
including raising the age limit for e-cigarette purchases.
Asked if Juul Labs Inc, which dominates the U.S. e-cigarette market,
would participate in the discussions, a Juul spokesperson said the
company was not lobbying on the issue.
"We are continuing to refrain from lobbying the administration on
its draft flavor guidance while we take significant actions to
combat underage use and convert adult smokers," the spokesperson
said.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment
on Trump's tweet.
(Reporting by Doina Chiacu; Additional reporting by Uday Sampath in
Bengaluru; Writing by Doina Chiacu and Tim Ahmann; Editing by
Jonathan Oatis and Alistair Bell)
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