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 The ban came under immediate criticism from public health advocates
who said it does not go far enough.
But Alex Azar, the U.S. Health and Human Services secretary, called
the approach a "smart, targeted policy that protects our kids
without creating unnecessary disruption."
The flavor ban applies to cartridge-based e-cigarettes, which
typically use disposable pods filled with liquid nicotine and are
often sold in convenience stores. It does not apply to most
e-cigarette liquids that are purchased separately, a variety most
often sold in vape shops and used in so-called open tank
e-cigarettes.
Gary Reedy, chief executive of the American Cancer Society, called
it "a hollowed-out policy that will allow the tobacco industry to
continue to attract kids to a lifetime of nicotine addiction."
Representative Frank Pallone, the Democratic chair of the U.S. House
of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee, which has launched
probes into e-cigarette manufacturers, dismissed the impact of the
ban.
"A flavor ban that exempts menthol and vape shops is no ban at all,"
Pallone tweeted.
President Donald Trump's administration in September proposed a
sweeping ban on all e-cigarette and vaping flavors that are seen as
attracting millions of young users to addictive nicotine products.
That plan would have prohibited all e-cigarette flavors except
tobacco. However, Trump later expressed concerns that enacting the
ban could lead to an underground market for illegal vaping products
and potential job losses.
U.S. e-cigarette market leader Juul Labs Inc, which is 35%-owned by
Marlboro-maker Altria Group Inc <MO.N>, over the last year has
pulled fruit, dessert and mint nicotine flavors from retail stores
and its website in the United States amid heightened scrutiny of the
surge in teenage use.
Thursday's announcement would have no impact on Juul, which has
already pulled flavors except tobacco and menthol. It would force
competitors still offering a wider variety of flavors, including
Njoy and R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co <BAT.L>, which makes Vuse
e-cigarettes, to restrict their offerings.
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The percentage of high schoolers using e-cigarettes stands at 27.5%,
according to federal surveys, up from 20.8% in 2018.
Research from the Journal of the American Medical Association found
that mint was by far the most popular flavor among U.S. 10th- and
12th-grade Juul users, with more than 40% saying it was the most
frequently used variety of nicotine pod.
In banning mint but not menthol, HHS Secretary Azar said the
administration was following an "evidence-based, science-based
public health approach." Data that became available after the Trump
administration's September announcement showed that mint was highly
popular among teens but menthol was not, he said.
But public health advocates expect that teenagers will simply switch
to menthol.
"The evidence indicates that if menthol e-cigarettes are left on the
market, kids will shift to them,” said Matt Myers, president of the
Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. “Decades of experience with menthol
cigarettes demonstrate that menthol appeals to kids."
The new policy will go into effect in early February, when the U.S.
Food and Drug Administration will begin enforcing it against
e-cigarette makers that continue to sell unauthorized flavors. All
e-cigarette makers face a May deadline to apply to the FDA for
permission to continue selling their products.
(This story has been refiled to delete extraneous comma in headline)
(Reporting by Chris Kirkham in Los Angeles; Additional reporting by
Uday Sampath, Saumya Joseph and Manojna Maddipatla in Bengaluru;
Editing by Leslie Adler)
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