Vaping-related illness found in Nevada; Trump proposes ban on flavored e-liquids
President Donald Trump is proposing a ban on flavored e-cigarettes as the death toll from vaping-related illness has jumped to six.
The first confirmed case in Nevada is a person under the age of 18 in Clark County, who was hospitalized with symptoms of pulmonary illness linked to vaping. The patient has been released from the hospital and is recovering.
“It’s a new problem. It’s a problem nobody really thought about too much a few years ago, and it’s called “vaping” — especially vaping as it pertains to innocent children,” Trump said Wednesday, when he first mentioned his plan to ban flavored e-liquids.
The Nevada Vaping Association, which represents vape shops, is urging the president to reconsider.
“Banning flavors will simply drive millions of Americans back to smoking,” said Alex Mazzola, president of the Nevada Vaping Association. “President Trump needs to understand the difference between manufactured nicotine-based products intended to be vaporized that have not been [linked to] the recent fatalities which are very different from homemade marijuana-based THC or cannabinoids products that have. A blanket ban of flavors won’t result in homemade marijuana-based THC or cannabinoids products coming off the market.”
In one recent study of the illness in Wisconsin and Illinois, about 84 percent of cases of vaping-related illness involved the use of THC, the active ingredient in marijuana. The Nevada Dispensary Association, Nevada’s primary cannabis industry trade association, responded to the reported vaping illnesses on Thursday.
“As the Center for Disease Control’s (CDC) investigation is ongoing, the NDA affirms its ongoing commitment to promoting best practices and maintaining public health and safety as the industry’s first priority,” the association said in a statement.