President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump speak to the press as they arrive for a New Year's celebration at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach. Photo: Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images
President Trump told reporters in Palm Beach Tuesday evening his administration would soon announce a new initiative to address underage vaping that would include "certain flavors" being taken off the market.
What he's saying: "[W]e're gonna protect our families, we're gonna protect our children and we're gonna protect the industry."
- "[T]hey're gonna be checked ... people have died from this ... We think we understand why, but we're doing a very exhaustive examination and hopefully everything will be back on the market very, very shortly."
Driving the news: The Wall Street Journal reported earlier Tuesday that the Food and Drug Administration would "ban the sale of fruity flavors in cartridge-based e-cigarettes, but the restriction won’t apply to tank vaping systems commonly found at vape shops."
The big picture: Trump told reporters in September he planned to enact the ban as he sat alongside first lady Melania Trump, noting that she "feels very strongly" about the issue.
- Axios' Alayna Treene reported later that month that conservative leaders were "circulating data to White House staff that claims adults who vape will turn" on Trump if he banned such products.
- Juul, the market leader in vaping sales, has already stopped selling flavored products, both online and in stores, except for tobacco and menthol.
Go deeper:
- Report: Trump in flavored e-cigarette ban backflip
- All 50 states confirm cases of vaping-related illness
Editor’s note: This article has been updated to reflect that Juul recently stopped selling mint-flavored products.