Public health advocates launch television, print, and social media campaign
WEDNESDAY, Nov. 13, 2019 (HealthDay News) — An ad campaign urging U.S. President Donald Trump to follow through on a commitment to ban all flavored electronic cigarettes, including mint and menthol, has been launched by a number of public health groups.
“This campaign is in response to recent comments from the president and White House officials that appear to walk back a commitment that the Food and Drug Administration would release and enforce comprehensive guidance to clear the marketplace of all e-cigarette flavors and proactively address the growing youth e-cigarette use crisis,” the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, American Academy of Pediatrics, American Heart Association, American Lung Association, Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, and Truth Initiative said in a news release.
“Any attempts to weaken this guidance will further fuel the public health epidemic that has resulted from FDA’s delayed regulation of these addictive products and can only be seen as bending to the agenda of the profit-driven e-cigarette industry,” the groups added. “Flavor carveouts or exemptions for certain retailers are simply unacceptable and will continue to allow e-cigarette manufacturers to hook a new generation of users by masking nicotine addiction behind flavored products. The administration … must protect our children and halt the sale of all flavored e-cigarettes. Our kids’ health isn’t for sale and the president should not cave.”
Newly released data show that the U.S. youth e-cigarette epidemic continues to grow. More than 5 million youngsters use e-cigarettes, with flavored products being a significant factor in that use, according to the health groups.
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