Trump Wants To Be A Hero Vapers Don’t Really Need To

In December of 2019, Mitch Zeller, who at the time ran FDACenter for Tobacco Products, he quickly received a call from an employee of the company.

A few months ago, President Donald Trump and his leadership was vowed to take e-cigarettes in every flavor other than tobacco off the market to end the youth vaping epidemic that, at the time, he saw about 30 percent of American teenagers use nicotine.

By the time Zeller received the December call, he says, a White House had different FDA guidelines: Reduce restrictions on pod-based vapes, such as Julesand leave only the menthol flavors.

Zeller says this soft touch is “absolutely” due to the fact that Trump, by the 2020 election year, has been distracted by going back to his original plans. “The White House,” Zeller says, “went political.”

Almost seven years later and in his second term, Mr. Trump is showing more aggression towards the pro-vape community and the companies that supply it. Its benefits are not clear, because vapers make up a small group of voters, and a large illegal market already exists to help anyone who plays e-cigarettes – but this did not stop Trump’s FDA from making things legal.

Earlier this month, they say they are being pressured by Trumporganization agreed to sell blueberry and mango juices produced by the Glas company, for the first time the agency has approved an e-cigarette other than tobacco and menthol. “Our findings show that flavoring products can play an important role in helping older smokers quit vaping, while our technology is designed to help reduce access for young people and support healthy use,” a Glas spokesperson told WIRED.

Pa, according to The New York TimesThe decision was a final rebuke to recently departed FDA Commissioner Marty Makary, who was concerned about the drug’s appeal to children.

Zeller, who is set to retire from the FDA in 2022, says he doesn’t have a front-row seat to Trump’s thinking these days. But, he says, the push for flavored vapes “is consistent with everything I’ve seen the president say publicly about his political value,” and apparently a cozy relationship with tobacco company executives.

In a statement, White House spokesman Kush Desai tells WIRED, “President Trump has always promised to expand access to vapes because of the recent evidence that the drug is effective for Americans who want to quit smoking. Desai did not answer questions about Trump’s desire to attract vapers; he also referred to questions about Zeller’s recollection of events at the FDA, which he did not answer.

There are lessons which shows that flavored vapes appeal to adults as well as children, perhaps to help others change from cigarettes to the electronic version which is probably the easiest to die. But Mr. Trump—the man who, in the run-up to the 2024 elections, promised that “save vaping” and whose leadership has been equally friendly with other neighboring industries, including psychedelics and prediction markets– seems to have been affected by public opinion on the matter.

His original taste control measures led to the “we vote, we vote“Moving, a motley group of big vapers and vape shop owners from all over the country, including major states are shaking, angry at Trump’s damage.