WASHINGTON — With the industry awaiting word on how the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will further address flavors in vaping products, President Donald Trump weighed in on the matter, saying his administration would seek to raise the federal minimum age to purchase electronic cigarettes from 18 to 21, reported the Associated Press.
The federal minimum age to purchase any tobacco product is currently 18, but about a third of all states have already raised that to 21. To make 21 the legal age to buy vaping products or any other form of tobacco, Congress would have to enact a new law, the news agency said.
“We have to take care of our kids, most importantly, so we’re going to have an age limit of 21 or so,” said Trump, speaking Nov. 8 outside the White House.
Trump did not mention specifics about new restrictions during his talk with the media on Nov. 8, AP reported. “We’re talking about the age, we’re talking about flavors, we’re also talking about keeping people working—there are some pretty good aspects,” Trump said.
The FDA has said it will issue its final guidance—or its finalized set of rules for policy enforcement—for e-cigarettes in the coming weeks, which would most likely address the issue of flavored products.
[Editor’s Note: CSP’s 2020 Convenience Retailing University conference in New Orleans will dig deep into category sales trends and best practices, including those involving tobacco, other tobacco products (OTP) and nicotine-delivery systems. We’ll also name our Category Managers of the Year. To request an invitation to CRU, click here.]
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