*Chloe Aiello*
The Food and Drug Administration confirmed reports Thursday it would seek to impose new restrictions on most flavors of e-cigarettes in a move to combat an "epidemic" number of teen vapers.
FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb [announced the news in a statement](https://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm625884.htm) on Thursday, in which he references his work as a doctor and his personal history with cancer among other reasons that reducing the number of young smokers is so important to him.
Mint, menthol, and tobacco flavors are notably absent from the new restrictions, which rather than imposing a blanket ban, require that all flavored electronic nicotine delivery systems, or e-cigs, are sold in "age-restricted, in-person locations and, if sold online, under heightened practices for age verification." That means pods will no longer be sold in convenience stores, or anywhere that permits teens easy access.
In the statement, Gottlieb also proposed bans on flavored cigars and menthol in combustible tobacco products, which includes both cigars and cigarettes.
Following [reports the FDA was considering a comprehensive crackdown on flavored nicotine and methol products,](https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/09/health/fda-menthol-cigarettes-ban.html) including mint and menthol, [Juul preemptively halted sales](https://cheddar.com/videos/juul-pulls-products-abandons-social-media-feeds-under-pressure-over-teen-vaping) of its mango, fruit, creme, and cucumber-flavored pods at more than 90,000 retail stores and tightened age restrictions on online sales. It also said it would shut down its social media accounts to avoid inadvertently advertising to teens.
Juul, which claims more than 70 percent of the U.S. e-cigarette market share, has been under intense scrutiny by the FDA and anti-smoking groups, which allege it has contributed to a spike in teen vaping.
Swedish buy now, pay later company Klarna is making its highly anticipated public debut on the New York Stock Exchange Wednesday, the latest in a run of high-profile initial public offerings this year. The offering priced at $40 Tuesday, above the forecasted range of $35 to $37 a share, valuing the company at more than $15 billion. The valuation easily makes Klarna one of the biggest IPOs so far in 2025, which has been one of the busier years for companies going public. Other popular IPOs so far this year include the design software company Figma and Circle Internet Group, which issues the USDC stablecoin..
Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison wrested the title of the world’s richest man from longtime holder Elon Musk early Wednesday as stock in his software giant rocketed more than a third in a stunning few minutes of trading. That is according to wealth tracker Bloomberg. A college dropout, the 81-year-old Ellison is now worth $393 billion, Bloomberg says, several billion more than Musk, who had been the world’s richest for four years. The switch in the ranking came after a blockbuster earnings report from Oracle. Forbes still has Musk as the richest, however, valuing his private businesses much higher.
Aurimas Sabulis, CEO of Dextall, unveils how AI‑driven prefabricated façades slash design time by 80%, labor by 87%, and accelerate affordable housing delivery.
Online broker Robinhood Markets will join the S&P 500 index Online broker Robinhood Markets will join the S&P 500 index as its stock rides higher on a cryptocurrency wave.
Trump wants interest rates to plummet to make borrowing cheaper and boost growth. Fed chair Jerome Powell and his allies say not so fast, they need to bala
