Vaping is a huge issue throughout all parts of the US, becoming increasingly more prevalent in schools and has intruded into the lives of many young minds. It has become so big of an issue that it has now made headlines with its own Supreme Court case with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) blocking two e-cigarette companies, Triton and Vapetasia, from selling flavored vape products that are considered harmful to the youth.
Triton and Vapetasia Lawyer, Eric Heyer told the justices “We have a new administration coming in...The president-elect [Trump] is on record saying, ‘I’m going to save flavored vapes.’”
The FDA has rejected more than a million flavored vape products that taste like fruit, candy, and dessert while under the Biden administration. Trump is expected to aid in this court case as part of his recent “Save Vaping” campaign.
The justices have mostly the same opinions siding with the FDA. Liberal Justice Elena Kagan said, "Everybody basically knows that flavors are particularly dangerous in terms of kids starting the use of smoking products."
The Justice Department’s Attorney, Curtis Gannon stated, "They knew throughout that FDA was concerned about the fact that flavors are attractive to youth." Gannon continues, "The concern would be that they're getting addicted to ... nicotine at a time when nicotine is dangerous to their developing brains and may be, you know, sentencing them to a long life of needing to satisfy that addiction."
It seems that even if Trump tries his best to “Save Vaping”, this is a battle he just can’t win. With all the genuine health risks of vaping and other tobacco products, it’s a risk the Supreme Court and FDA might not be so willing to take.
Dr. Reana Joblonski of UChicagoMedicine stated in a Q&A about the health concerns of vaping that “we still don't know how safe these products are for long-term use. What's being talked about in the media, particularly over the fall and summer of 2019, was this real explosion in cases of acute lung injury or acute symptoms of cough and shortness of breath that we were seeing, particularly in young people, who were using vaping products, especially those containing THC. We know, though, that the use of these products long-term can be associated with more pulmonary symptoms, particularly cough. That they can make people at increased risk of developing chronic lung diseases like COPD and asthma.”
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