Staff Writer
It was a wowing reaction to an eye opening health crisis very deeply affecting today’s teenagers. In the Oval Office in September, President Trump said he was moving to ban the sale of most flavored e-cigarettes as vaping among young people continued to rise.
“We can’t have our kids be so affected,” Trump said. He continued to speak on how “Many people think vaping is a wonderful thing, when it’s really not wonderful commissioner”. When Trump placed the ban back in September, All flavors of Juul, except Mint, Menthol, and Tobacco were pushed to be banned from in store resale. The flavors include: Mango, Fruit Medley, and Creme Brulee. Juul has been under fire from the FDA for a very long time due to the teenage epidemic that has been spreading globally for the past few months.
The vaping industry has taken some turns after the bans and regulations on the products, but their advertised mission is to help people with a safer alternative to smoking as of 2018 there are approximately 43 million users worldwide.
On Nov. 11, Mr. Trump tweeted that he would be “meeting with representatives of the vaping industry, together with medical professionals and individual state representatives, to come up with an acceptable solution to the vaping and E-cigarette dilemma.” These meetings will set the precedent for future laws and legislations on the vaping industry.
President Trump has had many of his advisors and White House Staff members, alert him of the danger that this potential ban could put him in during the 2020 election. Data taken by the New York Times suggests that many of his voters are smokers or e-cigarette smokers. By enacting this ban on vaping products, big companies will not make money, as well as Trump will lose support in the long run.
Personally I would agree with many of Trump's advisors and campaign managers on this issue. Taking away someone's right to smoke and vape, is similar to taking away freedom from an American. When I read reports based off of the presidents ideas about the policy he would’ve like to move forward with and enact, I asked many students around New Hope-Solebury High School their thoughts on the issue at hand. The following are their responses:
Lila Datz, A junior “I think that stopping certain flavors of vape from being on the market, isn’t going to kill the craving for the buzz”. I agree with Lila’s statement because people that truly are addicted such as teenagers will use anything to satisfy their cravings.
Eric Locke A Junior “I do not believe that vape products are the sole issue here because the deaths that have occured have been from teenagers using illegal and fake THC cartridges, not the actual nicotine product.”
Will Kelley, “I don't think that he should do anything about his it because it is their choice if they want to put that stuff in their body.”
