The federal government's partial ban on flavored vape products went into effect at 12:01 a.m. Thursday, capping a year of backlash, lobbying, and patchwork laws meant to respond to what public health officials consider to be an epidemic of teen vaping.
The efficacy of the ban, however, remains an open question. Juul, by far the leading brand of pod-based e-cigarettes, had already voluntarily removed its flavored products from the market, leaving just menthol and tobacco (the two flavors not affected by the FDA's ban). And, as reported recently by the New York Times, many teens have already moved on to disposable vapes, which are exempt from the federal ban in a major loophole.
Lauren Williams, a Kentucky high-school teacher, told the Times: "Students were telling me that everybody had gone to Puff Bars, which are disposable ... the one we confiscated here this week is Banana Ice. Students are not using Juuls anymore because no one wants menthol or tobacco."
In addition to tobacco and menthol flavors, the ban also has carve-outs for "mods," the more advanced e-cigarettes sold in vape shops. That exemption was intended to mollify the vape-shop industry, which said it faced extinction if those were to be regulated. It is also unclear how the FDA will enforce the ban given that vape products are typically sold in convenience stores, of which there are more than 150,000 in the country, according to the industry's trade group. Most of those stores are not part of larger national chains that could institute company-wide implementation efforts.
The FDA, for its part, says that it will closely monitor the marketplace and has an enforcement plan in place.
The partial federal ban follows several other state bans, including one in New York that was blocked by a state judge last month. And on the first day of the federal ban, the now-outlawed flavored pods were still available on some store shelves in Lower Manhattan ー priced at nearly double the cost of the tobacco flavors.
Starbucks’ decision to restrict its restrooms to paying customers has flushed out a wider problem: a patchwork of restroom use policies that varies by state and city. Starbucks announced last week a new code of conduct that says people need to make a purchase if they want to hang out or use the restroom. The coffee chain's policy change for bathroom privileges has left Americans confused and divided over who gets to go and when. The American Restroom Association, a public toilet advocacy group, was among the critics. Rules about restroom access in restaurants vary by state, city and county. The National Retail Federation says private businesses have a right to limit restroom use.
President Donald Trump is talking up a joint venture investing up to $500 billion for infrastructure tied to artificial intelligence by a new partnership formed by OpenAI, Oracle and SoftBank. The new entity, Stargate, will start building out data centers and the electricity generation needed for the further development of the fast-evolving AI in Texas, according to the White House. The initial investment is expected to be $100 billion and could reach five times that sum. While Trump has seized on similar announcements to show that his presidency is boosting the economy, there were already expectations of a massive buildout of data centers and electricity plants needed for the development of AI.
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