Trump announces vaping ban with eye on teen usage, but his target audience doesn't think it will work

The Trump administration announced a ban of flavored vaping products in an attempt to curb teen
usage. However, members of the regulation’s target demographic are skeptical of how effective it will
be.

President Trump said September 11 at the white house that he and the FDA would seek to ban the
sale of flavored vaping products, including mint and menthol, with the goal of reducing e-cigarette
usage among young adults.

The Centers for Disease Control has reported 18 deaths and 1,080 lung injury cases in the United
States relating to e-cigarette or vaping use as of October 1. 37% of patients were 20 and younger,
meaning teens and young adults are especially at risk.

Trump’s goal of restricting the sale of flavored nicotine vape products, particularly popular among the
teen demographic, would appear to be a positive step toward regulating usage among young people.
However, young adults don't necessarily have faith in the proposal.

“If people want to vape they’ll still find a way to do it,” said 20-year-old Megan Skoczek, who does not
vape. Skoczek was not the only young adult who felt a flavor ban would do little to address the root of
the issue. 

“If people are addicted to nicotine… they will vape no matter what, or switch to cigarettes,” said Dustin
Davis, 20, who uses vape products. 

Others felt focusing on nicotine vapes misses the issue entirely. “It’s kind of dumb,” said 20-year-old
Daniel Clark, a vape user. “Most of the health related issues are from THC pens.” The CDC
highlighted THC vapes as a contributor to the recent outbreak, but no definitive information has been
released.

At the end of the day, what young people think is most important is that the potential side effects of
vape products are made known to those who use them. Multiple suggested European-style graphic
images of potential harmful effects.

“If we make the deaths and illnesses more prominent maybe people will want to quit on their own,”
said Skoczec. “If we treated vaping the same way we treated cigarettes when we were little then
vaping would be greatly reduced too.”