Few days after the flavor ban in Michigan, President Trump said the U.S. plans to pull most vaping products from the market, citing growing concerns about health hazards and rising use by teenagers of the trendy alternative to traditional cigarettes.
The Food and Drug Administration intends to ban popular fruity flavors, as well as menthol and mint e-cigarettes from stores and online sellers, leaving just tobacco-flavored products. The move poses a major threat to a fast-growing market estimated to reach $9 billion in sales this year and dominated by startup Juul Labs Inc., which counts on mango, mint and other fruity flavors for most of its sales.
Public-health officials have encouraged adult smokers to switch to less risky products such as e-cigarettes, which deliver nicotine in a cloud of vapor. Tobacco companies have invested in the technology to offset declining sales as smokers switched to new entrants like Juul. But the sleek devices also proved popular with teens and young people who had never smoked. About eight million adults use e-cigarettes, and about five million children are also vaping, including more than a quarter of high-school students, according to the latest government estimates.
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