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.
About 780,000 pressure washers sold at retailers like Home Depot are being recalled across the U.S. and Canada, due to a projectile hazard that has resulted in fractures and other injuries among some consumers.
Europeans upset with Elon Musk still aren’t buying his electric cars, adding to a long losing streak for his company.
President Donald Trump has fired one of two Democratic members of the U.S. Surface Transportation Board to break a 2-2 tie ahead of the board considering the largest railroad merger ever proposed.
Ford is recalling more than 355,000 of its pickup trucks across the U.S. because of an instrument panel display failure that’s resulted in critical information, like warning lights and vehicle speed, not showing up on the dashboard.
Nvidia reported a 56% increase in second-quarter revenue and a 59% rise in net income compared to a year ago.
The Rev. Al Sharpton is set to lead a protest march on Wall Street to urge corporate America to resist the Trump administration’s campaign to roll back diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. The New York civil rights leader will join clergy, labor and community leaders Thursday in a demonstration through Manhattan’s Financial District that’s timed with the anniversary of the Civil Rights-era March on Washington in 1963. Sharpton called DEI the “civil rights fight of our generation." He and other Black leaders have called for boycotting American retailers that scaled backed policies and programs aimed at bolstering diversity and reducing discrimination in their ranks.
President Donald Trump's administration last month awarded a $1.2 billion contract to build and operate what's expected to become the nation’s largest immigration detention complex to a tiny Virginia firm with no experience running correction facilities.
Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos claims audiences don't want to watch Netflix movies in theaters, but that seems not to be the case recently.
Chipmaker Nvidia is poised to release a quarterly report that could provide a better sense of whether the stock market has been riding an overhyped artificial intelligence bubble or is being propelled by a technological boom that’s still gathering momentum.
Cracker Barrel said late Tuesday it’s returning to its old logo after critics — including President Donald Trump — protested the company’s plan to modernize.
