Trump reportedly shelved a ban on flavored e-cigarettes to avoid angering voters
Donald Trump reportedly stalled a planned ban on flavored e-cigarettes, intended to combat the rise of teenage vaping, after hearing it could alienate voters and hurt his chances of reelection next year.
The president backed off from vaping restrictions after political advisors and lobbyists warned him of potential pushback from his supporters, the New York Times reported.
Trump tweeted last week he will meet with vaping, medical, and state representatives to "come up with an acceptable solution to the Vaping and E-cigarette dilemma."
Donald Trump reportedly stalled a planned ban on flavored e-cigarettes, intended to combat the rise of teenage vaping, after hearing it could alienate voters and hurt his chances of reelection next year.
"We can't have our kids be so affected," the president said in an interview in September. "She's got a son, we together, that is a beautiful young man and she feels very, very strongly about it," he added, referring to his wife, Melania and their teenager, Barron.
However, after political advisers and vaping-industry lobbyists warned him of potential pushback from his supporters, Trump appears to have backed off from vaping restrictions, the New York Times reported.
Related: Vaping crisis
"Will be meeting with representatives of the Vaping industry, together with medical professionals and individual state representatives, to come up with an acceptable solution to the Vaping and E-cigarette dilemma," he tweeted last week. "Children's health & safety, together with jobs, will be a focus!"
Trump's advisers deterred him from pursuing the policies during a flight to a political rally in Kentucky this month, spurring him to scrap an announcement on the issue scheduled for the following day, the Times reported. Trump's campaign manager and senior White House officials also reviewed a poll showing a government clampdown on vaping could cost the president in battleground states, the Times said.
More than 5 million young Americans reported smoking e-cigarettes in the past 30 days, and nearly 1 million said they smoke them daily, according to the 2019 National Youth Tobacco Survey. Upwards of 2,000 people have fallen ill with vaping illnesses and more than 40 people have died, new government data shows.
Juul Labs, which is under regulatory investigation for allegedly targeting teenagers with its vaping products, has pulled most of its flavors off the market.
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