US bans most flavoured vaping cartridges

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has committed to enforcing a ban on manufacture, distribution, and sale of unauthorised cartridge-based e-cigarettes, except for menthol or tobacco flavours. The action comes amid a concerning spike in vaping among US teens and an epidemic in America of a serious and sometimes fatal lung illness associated with such products, and is particularly focused on products that appeal to children.

‘The enforcement policy we’re issuing today confirms our commitment to dramatically limit children’s access to certain flavoured e-cigarette products we know are so appealing to them – cartridge-based products that are both easy to use and easily concealable,’ stated the FDA’s commissioner, Stephen Hahn.