Trump Softens Rhetoric on Vape Ban After Bipartisan Backlash

After much backlash from both sides, like commentator John Stossel, President Trump tweeted a couple of hours ago signaling that he is listening and what specifically he wants to look at focusing on with his proposed e-cigarette or vape ban. A couple of days ago President Trump issued a statement and spoke to reporters about his initial thoughts. As reported in USA Today:

President Donald Trump said Wednesday he will seek to ban the sale of flavored vaping products in an effort to get young people to give up the potential dangers of e-cigarettes.

“It’s causing a lot of problems and we’re going to have to do something about it,” Trump said after a White House meeting with health policy advisers. “There have been deaths and there have been a lot of other problems.”

The Food and Drug Administration will soon issue guidance on how to take flavored vaping products off the market, said Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar, a process that could take weeks or months. 

The Food and Drug Administration said in a statement that it would soon release details on a policy that aims to remove unauthorized, flavored e-cigarette products from the market.

See video below where President Trump spoke to reporters on the subject:

President Trump on vaping: "We can't allow people to get sick and we can't have our youth be so affected" pic.twitter.com/UbOMHhHYJz

— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) September 11, 2019

John Stossel, among many many others, fired back: “480,000 people die a year from cigarettes. 6 die from black market vape products (maybe because of government bans), and Trump responds with calls for a federal ban on vapes. Government ruins everything.” See the tweet below from @JohnStossel:

480,000 people die a year from cigarettes. 6 die from black market vape products (maybe because of government bans), and Trump responds with calls for a federal ban on vapes. Government ruins everything. #vapeBan #vape #vapingsaveslives #vapinghttps://t.co/UoNK3vPytd

— John Stossel (@JohnStossel) September 13, 2019

Today the President, without actually rescinding anything in particular, hinted that he is willing to look more at specific details of where the biggest problems from vaping arise, such as counterfeit cartridges (often used with THC). President Trump tweeted: “While I like the Vaping alternative to Cigarettes, we need to make sure this alternative is SAFE for ALL! Let’s get counterfeits off the market, and keep young children from Vaping!”

See below:

While I like the Vaping alternative to Cigarettes, we need to make sure this alternative is SAFE for ALL! Let’s get counterfeits off the market, and keep young children from Vaping!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 13, 2019