ASTHO Applauds Administration’s Decision to Halt Sales of Flavored E-Cigarettes

September 12, 2019

ARLINGTON, VA—The Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO) applauds the Administration and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its announcement to halt sales of non-tobacco flavored electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) in the coming weeks.

“ASTHO applauds the Trump Administration’s move to ban non-tobacco flavored e-cigarettes. Regulating the tobacco industry in a way to protect the public’s health is an essential part of the puzzle to protect our population, especially youth, from the harms of tobacco products,” says Nathaniel Smith, MD, MPH, president-elect of ASTHO and secretary of health at the Arkansas Department of Health. “Federal policy to support and bolster the vital work that state, territorial, tribal, and local public health do to prevent youth from becoming addicted to nicotine is bold and necessary. Governmental public health cannot always do it alone, and on tobacco policy, the force of the FDA is one that cannot be underestimated in the effort to curb tobacco use in our country—especially among young populations.”

ASTHO has long advocated that flavored tobacco products threaten and undermine the progress made to prevent youth from smoking combustible tobacco. ASTHO members strongly support the notice of proposed rulemaking to regulate flavoring in all tobacco products. This announcement is a step in the right direction in maintaining this momentum.

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ASTHO is the national nonprofit organization representing the public health agencies of the United States, the U.S. territories and freely associated states, and Washington, D.C., as well as the more than 100,000 public health professionals these agencies employ. ASTHO members, the chief health officials of these jurisdictions, are dedicated to formulating and influencing sound public health policy and to ensuring excellence in public health practice.