US lawmakers see momentum of crackdown after Trump ban

From Utah to New Jersey, President Donald Trump's plan to remove flavored electronic cigarettes from the market has helped strengthen long-standing plans to tackle teen vaping. And some states want to go further than the White House.

State lawmakers believe that the surprise ban announced this week by Trump, in the wake of a mysterious ejaculation epidemic that has killed several hundred people and killed at least six impetus for legislation to severely repress the young and rapidly growing e-cigarette sector. They see a possibility of proceeding with new heavy taxes, their own ban on flavored vials and perhaps even the ban on vaping products.

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Jim Hendren, president of the Arkansas Senate, a Republican at the head of a failed effort Raising taxes on vaping products this year, said some lawmakers with whom he spoke this week are beginning to change their attitude. Hendren said he had spoken with the governor and was trying to rally support for a special session on vaping legislation, which could include a ban on flavor and taxes. higher on the products.

"Those reviewing the facts are seeing the time that it is time for the legislature to take steps to ensure that it does not explode in schools," Hendren said.

Public health officials still do not know what is behind the vaping disease that erupted last month, but legal vows have not been ruled out. At the same time, federal health officials announced this week that teenage smoking has continued to increase, despite recent efforts to limit sales of flavored products. Preliminary results from a national youth smoking survey revealed that 28% of high school students reported using an electronic cigarette in the last 30 days, compared to about 21% last year.

All this gives "great impetus" to governors and state legislators to act, said Marcus Plescia, chief medical officer of the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials.

"We think this is certainly a catalyst for legislative action," he said. "It's something we expect and anticipate. The fact that the federal government plans to act is certainly something that will give states more leverage to take further action. "

Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer was the first to take action in the sense that vaping-related illnesses have worsened, announcing a temporary ban on all flavored products earlier this month. Nearly 30 cities across the country have adopted similar bans. San Francisco, home of the famous electronic cigarette maker Juul, went even further by banning all sales of electronic cigarettes. Juul invested $ 4.5 million in a vote initiative in November to cancel the ban.

New Jersey Senate President Steve Sweeney, a Democrat, said this week that he wanted a complete ban in the same way for all e-cigarette products, warning that "health and safety and even the life of young people are in danger. Thursday, Gov. Phil Murphy announced that a working group would make recommendations on new vaping regulations in three weeks.

Juul said he would work with the FDA on the ban on flavors, but that he would fight against broader efforts to ban vaping products altogether.

"A total ban will bring back former adult smokers who have successfully used steam-based products to deadly cigarettes, will prevent current smokers from becoming smokers and create a thriving black market instead of tackling the real causes." of access and use of minors, "said a spokesman Austin Finan.

Republican lawmakers from conservative states are calling for action. Utah, a traditionally low-consumption state, has seen high school vaping rates increase. Republican state representative Paul Ray said state data revealed that 30 percent of high school students in some counties had recently volatilized, a rate slightly higher than the national rate. He plans to introduce a flavor ban when the legislature returns in January.

Ray, who said he did not "trust the federal government," said that a state law would protect Utah if a future government decided to relax the rules relating to terrorism. electronic cigarette.

According to the plan announced by the Trump administration this week, electronic cigarette manufacturers will have to prove to the FDA that their products do not pose a threat to public health. They must also demonstrate why they should be allowed to sell all flavored products, including mint and menthol, which are accused of increasing the number of teenagers.

State legislators from across the country have heard school officials tell them they are overwhelmed by appeasement. Some schools have installed special sensors in the bathrooms and an Alabama high school has removed the doors of the boys' bathroom stalls to discourage the use of the electronic cigarette.

A Massachusetts bill banning all flavored tobacco, including electronic cigarettes, has been under construction for more than a year, said Sen. John Keenan, a Democrat who sponsored the legislation. There was talk of going even further, but legislators felt that a flavor ban would be the fastest and most effective way to enact legislation that would protect children. Keenan expects that a bill will be passed before the end of the year.

"Our goal is to prevent Big Tobacco from doing this generation what it has done to the previous generation," he said.

Advocates of child health see a good reason for states to adopt their own flavor restrictions, even as the Trump administration is about to formally ban it in the coming weeks. John Schachter, director of state communications at the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Children, said John Schachter.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced Monday his support for a flavor ban two days before Trump's announcement. Assembly member Linda Rosenthal, a Democrat who has been pushing for a ban on flavors since 2017, said she did not want to leave the regulation to the federal government.

"The president says a lot," she said. "He rarely goes with them."

It is also drafting legislation that would effectively ban all vaping products until they are cleared by the FDA, as is the San Francisco ban.

"If the FDA thinks it's safe, then it should say so," she said.

Amanda Eisenberg and Shannon Young contributed to this report.