The Trump administration is preparing to take action amid a rush of deaths linked to vaping.
After a meeting with President Trump and FDA commissioner Norman Sharpless on Wednesday, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar announced that the FDA would soon issue regulations that would let it force flavored e-cigarette products off the shelves. The announcement doesn't signal a full ban just yet, but it does come precisely a year after the FDA declared teenage e-cigarette use an "epidemic," and just hours after a sixth death linked to e-cigarette use was reported.
Trump hinted at regulatory action after the Wednesday meeting, calling vaping a "problem," namely for "children." Azar followed that up with a statement, saying "we intend to clear the market of flavored e-cigarettes" and that the FDA is finalizing plans to do so. As CBS News' Kathryn Watson reports, tobacco companies didn't seem to be expecting the announcement.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Six people have been reported dead so far from a lung disease tied to vaping, and more than 450 possible cases have been reported in 33 states. Health officials are currently homing in on Vitamin E acetate as a possible link to the disease. Until a cause is found, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have warned people against vaping altogether.
-
What's the best time of year to buy a house?The Explainer There are pros and cons to each season
-
Africa's largest dam is making diplomatic wavesUnder the Radar Ethiopians view using the Nile as a 'sovereign right' but the vast hydroelectric project has 'fuelled nationalist fervour' in Egypt and Sudan
-
Jessica Francis Kane's 6 favorite books that prove less is moreFeature The author recommends works by Penelope Fitzgerald, Marie-Helene Bertino, and more
-
New York court tosses Trump's $500M fraud fineSpeed Read A divided appeals court threw out a hefty penalty against President Trump for fraudulently inflating his wealth
-
Trump said to seek government stake in IntelSpeed Read The president and Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan reportedly discussed the proposal at a recent meeting
-
US to take 15% cut of AI chip sales to ChinaSpeed Read Nvidia and AMD will pay the Trump administration 15% of their revenue from selling artificial intelligence chips to China
-
NFL gets ESPN stake in deal with DisneySpeed Read The deal gives the NFL a 10% stake in Disney's ESPN sports empire and gives ESPN ownership of NFL Network
-
Samsung to make Tesla chips in $16.5B dealSpeed Read Tesla has signed a deal to get its next-generation chips from Samsung
-
FCC greenlights $8B Paramount-Skydance mergerSpeed Read The Federal Communications Commission will allow Paramount to merge with the Hollywood studio Skydance
-
Tesla reports plummeting profitsSpeed Read The company may soon face more problems with the expiration of federal electric vehicle tax credits
-
Dollar faces historic slump as stocks hit new highSpeed Read While stocks have recovered post-Trump tariffs, the dollar has weakened more than 10% this year
