Posted on 09/12/2019 3:39:05 AM PDT by Reno89519
The usually reticent first lady Melania Trump took to Twitter on Monday to air her concern about a “growing epidemic” of teen vaping.
Her Twitter-addicted husband had already gotten the message.
The couple has a 13-year-old son and the first lady’s tweet followed weeks of behind-the-scenes efforts to come up with a response to growing pressure over the explosion of teen vaping and the spread of a mysterious vaping-linked illness across the country.
President Donald Trump in the Oval Office on Wednesday unexpectedly announced a crackdown. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar, sitting at his side, said that federal regulators would pull thousands of flavored vapes off the market until they go through regulatory reviews. That bar will be tough for many e-cigarette makers to clear, federal officials suggested.
The first lady was not the only driving force. Tackling teen vaping is one of those child health issues that appeals to a wide swath of voters — and Democrats have scheduled hearings and demanded prompt action from the Food and Drug Administration.
But Trump said his wife’s pressure was key. In comparison with past first ladies, she has had a low profile on public policy. Here, in contrast, she persuaded her husband to dramatically shift the government's approach to a massive, growing and politically connected industry. That's something that neither federal regulators nor Capitol Hill had been able to do.
“Melania has the same concerns as any mom with a 13-year-old child," said a former Trump adviser who remains close to the White House. "Whether it’s bullying or smoking ... moms want their kids to be safe. And in this case, she whispers in the ear of the American president who can actually do something about this crisis that moms care about.”
Source: https://www.politico.com/story/2019/09/11/melania-trump-donald-trump-vaping-1727048
“These are illegal products and should not be on the market without approval from FDA, which they do not have,” Kessler told POLITICO Wednesday. “The increase in youth use and the recent concerns about safety no longer can justify the administration using enforcement discretion to avoid implementing the law.”
The FDA in 2017 pushed a deadline for reviewing e-cigarette products back by four years. A federal court this summer ordered it to require submissions within 10 months, effectively moving the deadline to May 2020. In the meantime, e-cigarettes remain on the market subject to the agency's discretion.
And yet in many states it is just as illegal to sell vaping equipment to minors as it is cigarettes.
But never let a manufactured crisis go to waste, and remember citizens: jump on every bandwagon.
I could see the benefits for medical use. The particle size in the vapor is so small that it can easily cross the capillary bed and enter the blood stream, bypassing the digestive system. What I find amazing is that some produce has hundreds of regulations attached to it by the USDA and FDA, while this e-liquid goes for the most part unregulated and with no quality control.
Just go for thoughts and prayers. If the government wouldn’t shut down the tobacco companies for a product which kills far more people than vaping then why go after this legal industry?
If people want to inhale noxious fumes, that’s their problem. I’d rather they do it by vaping than by smoking. Vaping has less effect on the rest of us.
I heard it said last night that it's *flavored* e-cigarettes that are thought be harmful. If that's true then one could argue in favor of regulating...or banning... the flavored ones.
I can't see an "addiction" to nicotine to be any worse that an "addiction" to caffeine.
E-cigarettes was the governments solution to cigarettes.....along with patches, gum etc etc....all pumping an addictive substance into your body.
Because everybody knows that regular cigarettes are SO much healthier.
A great many FReepers have successfully quit smoking with these. I’m sure they’ll be much happier when the government forces them back towards a life of coughing and gasping all day and night.
First Ladies should be like children - seen but not heard.
Just guessing here but it would not surprise me to learn that over the decades there has been a great deal of research on vehicles for inhaled drugs. My guess is what is known about inhaled warmed glycerine is that it is pretty innocuous. So when a product that was inhaled glycerine with nicotine added no one anticipated any problem. Now, with millions of people involved there have been a handful of “attributed to” cases that introduce a little uncertainty. Americans seem to be willing to do just about anything to “save the children” so it doesn’t surprise me much to be subjected to yet another round of wound up people insisting the government DO SOMETHING.
In a country $22 Trillion in debt and forever wars scattered over half the planet seems to me politicians would have no problem finding even bigger problems that require they DO SOMETHING but those problems that are so intractable seem to be best ignored, for politicians.
Agreed. I also find it interesting that they ignore more deadly behaviors. More GOP banning... they cannot help themselves. How many ppl have died from the consequences of homosexual behavior? How many lives are in danger because they won’t ban dangerous hormonal treatment in kids?
I think that the objection to the flavored juice is that it seems to be targeted to children, which indeed it is. Getting a new generation addicted to nicotine is obviously crucial to the long run viability of the tobacco growers, so they are shameless in pushing bubble gum flavored vape gear.
Successfully quit smoking, but replaced one addictive habit with another. What next?
E-cigs and vaping was fine when it was an alternative and a stepping stone to helping cigarette smokers quit.
But when I started to see “flavors” such as Red Hots, Cotton Candy, Blueberry Muffin, etc., I knew we were heading for a problem. These were clearly being designed to market to a non-smoker (traditional tobacco cigarette) crowd. No adult trying to quit smoking is buying something flavored like candy; at least not at first.
While I reflexively oppose govt regulation, it’s clear the vaping industry has no interest in policing itself.
FWIW, I work with a wide variety of people, every demographic one can imagine. Nearly every one of them over the age of 18 is using flavored vaping products on their breaks.
Getting kids hooked on nicotine....meh.
Free country. Let the individual choose. Minors? That’s another story. But give adults a choice.
I quit smoking in 76 and have never vaped.
What’s next is nationwide legal pot smoking.
I think the attention on flavored e-cigs is that is is believed the flavors are what attracts kids. From my understanding, it is the THC laced vape liquids that are killing people. Very possibly due to poor quality control.
I read a story a whole back about a father that was teeing off a round of golf. He shanked his drive, hit his child in the head and killed the child. Should we ban golf?
Ugh.
People wanting everything banned because it’s, “Targeted to children.”
There was a time when warfare was targeted to children (Army figures, military vehicles and weapons, etc).
R-rated movies targeted to children by making action figures of characters (Alien, Robocop, etc)
How about raising children to know the difference between right and wrong, and not demanding government keep them safe by punishing everyone else?
Kinda like gun control does.
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