Read articles from United States of America

September 23, 2019 by bbc.com

Walmart has said it will no longer sell e-cigarettes in the US, amid mounting calls to ban the products entirely. The retailer said its decision was due to "uncertainty" about the rules governing e-cigarettes, which US health authorities have linked to more than 500 cases of lung injury. On Friday a group of US senators called on health authorities to remove all pod and cartridge-based e-cigarettes from the market until it can be proven the products are safe.

September 19, 2019 by reuters.com

The rate of nicotine vaping among 8th-graders in the U.S. nearly doubled in the past year and the rate among 12th-graders jumped by 22%, according to a new survey released Wednesday

The popularity of e-cigarettes has now grown to the point where one in four 12th-graders reported vaping a nicotine product during the previous 30 days. It’s nearly 1 in 10 for 8th-graders, the study team reports.

The actual rates are probably significantly higher because many e-cigarette users vape non-nicotine products designed to taste like mint, bubblegum, [...]

September 19, 2019 by vapingpost.com

New York and Michigan are the first two states in the union to ban the sale of flavored e-cigarette products. Other states are taking notice.

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, a Democrat, announced that he has ordered the creation of a task force “to formulate a comprehensive strategy to protect New Jersey residents from the hazards of electronic cigarettes.” Murphy issued this order on September 12, giving the task force 21 days to respond.

Plus, we cannot forget the national flavor ban that the Trump administration announced late last week.

September 19, 2019 by reason.com

Banning flavored e-cigarettes is all the rage among politicians these days. It's an alarming trend that poses a clear and present danger to public health. The epidemic of misguided meddling began earlier this month when Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced that she planned to unilaterally criminalize the sale of e-cigarettes in flavors other than tobacco. [...] The official justification for these measures is recent increases in vaping among teenagers, who overwhelmingly prefer the flavors that Whitmer et al. want to ban. [...]

September 18, 2019 by inquirer.com

The U.S. is in the middle of a vaping epidemic — an epidemic of panic. Over the past few weeks, there have been reports of a mysterious vaping-related lung disease that impaired — and at least six times killed — otherwise young healthy people. [...] When young people are dying, it is tempting to demand that the government immediately do something . But e-cigarettes pose a complex problem for lawmakers: How do we maximize the public health benefits of vaping while minimizing the harms?

September 18, 2019 by theguardian.com

California has announced a $20m public awareness campaign about the dangers of vaping and will step up efforts to halt the sale of illicit products amid a rise in vaping-related illnesses. The state’s Democratic governor, Gavin Newsom, announced the actions Monday as part of an executive order. [...] On Monday, public health officials in Washington confirmed two new cases of severe pulmonary disease linked to vaping, bringing the state’s total cases to three. “This is now a statewide outbreak,” said Washington state health officer Kathy Lofy.

September 16, 2019 by independent.co.uk

A teenager who says vaping gave him lungs “like a 70-year-old” is suing a leading e-cigarettes company. [...] In a statement on Friday, Juul said it had “never marketed to youth” and argued its products were meant to help adult smokers quit traditional cigarettes. The Illionis lawsuit claims the company used advertisements and social media campaigns to encourage young people to use e-cigarettes but never full disclosed that their products contained dangerous chemicals.

September 16, 2019 by cnn.com

September 16, 2019 by theguardian.com

New York governor Andrew Cuomo on Sunday announced an “emergency executive action” to ban the sale of flavored e-cigarette products, amid a surge in both youth vaping and concern over its health effects. “Manufacturers of fruit and candy-flavored e-cigarettes are intentionally and recklessly targeting young people, and today we’re taking action to put an end to it,” said Cuomo. The governor said New York’s top health official would convene an emergency meeting with the state’s public health council this week, to ban the products.

September 13, 2019 by nytimes.com

A ban on flavored e-cigarettes would not only severely dent sales of Juul Labs’ popular vaping products, but also have a chilling effect on the little regulated $2.6 billion industry of roughly 20,000 vape and smoke shops that sprung up across the country in the past few years.

But a day after Alex M. Azar II [...] said the Food and Drug Administration [...] would remove flavored e-cigarettes and nicotine pods from the market, there were already signs that some companies were considering legal challenges or lobbying efforts to keep two flavors safe — mint and menthol.