September 20, 2019
Vaping manufacturers have recently begun supporting ‘Tobacco 21’ legislation but are they pushing lax regulation now to head off harsher regulation later?The push on legislation comes as the vaping industry, and e-cigarette maker Juul in particular, is coming under intense government pressure.
Why do e-cigarette makers suddenly want to be regulated?
Photograph: Eva Hambach/AFP/Getty ImagesLobbyists are pushing to increase the legal age to buy tobacco products to 21 in states across America.But public health experts have warned the bills are often not what they appear, and contain loopholes and weak enforcement that could actually benefit big tobacco, because the laws often serve to prevent any future tightening of restrictions.In effect, the industry seems to be pushing for lax regulation now, to head off harsher regulation later.The push on legislation comes as the vaping industry, and e-cigarette maker Juul in particular, is coming under intense government pressure. Vaping is widely regarded as less harmful than smoking, but health authorities worry a new generation is becoming addicted to nicotine.John Schachter of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids said: “We’ve seen them publicly pushing for ending youth access through ‘tobacco 21’ – as such bills are often called. “But we have a number of concerns on that front.”He said: “They try to portray it as, ‘We’re for tobacco 21, case closed.”He added that tobacco lobbyists then “try to water it down, and weaken it” when public health authorities push for additional provisions.Fears about vaping’s health effects have intensified since severe, pneumonia-like illnesses linked to vaping made 530 people ill in dozens of states and killed seven. The illness has not been traced to any single product or device.Though Juul has not been specifically implicated in cases of lung injuries, the company controls roughly 70% of the American e-cigarette market, and has had an undeniable appeal to teens.Roughly 8 million US adults and 5 million teens vape, according to the health secretary, Alex Azar. For decades, tobacco lobbyists opposed tobacco 21 legislation, often arguing such laws would mean young people could join the military and vote at 18 but not buy a pack of cigarettes.Dr Robert Crane, a family medicine professor at Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center and the founder of Prevent Tobacco Addiction Foundation, has sought to push tobacco 21 laws almost exclusively since 1997.“In each and every state they were killed, absolutely slaughtered,” he said about the laws, “because the industry was so stealthily and skilfully against us. Fast-forward 20 years and we kept running and kept getting beat.”Then, about last year, lobbyists for groups such as the Vapor Technology Association began writing tobacco 21 legislation in places like Arizona, the Center for Public Integrity reported.Lobbyists “managed to get terrible tobacco 21 bills in Texas, Virginia and Arkansas and Utah”, said Crane. “Juul and Altria have their lobbyists out there pushing 21 in every single state.Health advocates say the bills are often problematic.In Texas, a recently enacted law exempts military members from the 21 age limit, and also prevents cities and towns from enacting stricter age limits. Juul and Altria, the parent company of Marlboro that owns a third of Juul, supported the bill.In Arkansas, a tobacco 21 law barred cities and towns from adopting any regulation more restrictive than the state’s on the “manufacture, sale, storage, or distribution of tobacco products”. That effectively bars cities and towns from banning flavored tobacco products, such as menthol or mint e-cigarette cartridges. Juul also supported that legislation.As of March 2019, Juul Labs was running ads to support tobacco 21 legislation in 22 states and Washington DC. The company has said the push is part of a plan to, “successfully address” the teen vaping epidemic. Juul shut down its social media account, said it has worked to stop minors from buying vape pods online and is working to trace its products.Already, public health experts have said efforts to stop teen vaping have failed. The rate of teen vaping rose to more than one-quarter of students in their final year of high, the New England Journal of Medicine reported Wednesday. About 12% vaped 20 out of last 30 days.A spokesman for Juul said the company prefers “clean tobacco 21 bills”, but at times “state level dynamics and politics” mean it will support bills that preempt cities and towns from stricter legislation.“For well over a year, we have publicly supported raising the minimum purchasing age for all tobacco and vapor products, including Juul, to 21 years in the US,” the spokesman said. “Tobacco 21 laws in the US fight one of the largest contributors to youth usage – social sourcing (obtaining products through family and friends over the legal age) – and they have been shown to dramatically reduce teen-use rates.”“Current efforts by the vaping industry, government agencies, and schools have thus far proved insufficient to stop the rapid spread of nicotine vaping among adolescents,” government researchers wrote in a letter to the editor of the journal.
Related Stories
Latest News
Top news around the world
Academy Awards

‘Oppenheimer’ Reigns at Oscars With Seven Wins, Including Best Picture and Director

Get the latest news about the 2024 Oscars, including nominations, winners, predictions and red carpet fashion at 96th Academy Awards

Around the World

Celebrity News

> Latest News in Media

Watch It
Olivia Munn Reveals Breast Cancer Diagnosis and Double Mastectomy Procedure | E! News
March 13, 2024
kUaEV1Kd3S0
Travis Kelce Shares Details From His Trip to Singapore With Taylor Swift | E! News
March 13, 2024
3YXi-Dgf4eg
Kate Middleton VIRAL Photo: Agency Addresses Photoshop Claims | E! News
March 13, 2024
S4VkO0TpkCY
Da'Vine Joy Randolph Plays 'Smash or Pass' With Iconic Moments From Her Career
March 13, 2024
vkPdJEF2BX4
Jean Smart Wears a Hotel Bathrobe to Present an Award to Hannah Einbinder l Power of Comedy SxSW
March 12, 2024
Bw7uVEYQev4
Lenny Kravitz Walk of Fame Ceremony
March 12, 2024
MlWq8BcnwhE
Dak Prescott Extortion Plot & Steph Curry for President? | TMZ Sports Full Ep - 3/12/24
March 13, 2024
jHFsrjs7OFY
A Japanese space rocket blew up after takeoff Tuesday, turning the sky into a fireball of smoke.
March 13, 2024
YkfJ3Qg8B7c
#KimKardashian and #BiancaCensori hung out at #KanyeWest's listening party Tuesday night!
March 13, 2024
EfwLLq6bx9k
‘Pioneer Woman’ Ree Drummond denies using Ozempic to lose 60 pounds
March 13, 2024
Omfjk1AlZ3A
Chrissy Teigen reveals her ‘boob lift scars’ in daring dress at Jay-Z & Beyoncé’s Oscars 2024 party
March 13, 2024
VxZ2qXAlpmU
Zoë Kravitz pokes fun at dad Lenny Kravitz's style during Hollywood Walk of Fame speech
March 13, 2024
j3-lcFu_1sQ
TV Schedule
Late Night Show
Watch the latest shows of U.S. top comedians

Sports

Latest sport results, news, videos, interviews and comments
Latest Events
17
Mar
SPAIN: La Liga
Atletico Madrid - Barcelona
17
Mar
ENGLAND: FA Cup
Manchester United - Liverpool
17
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
Inter Milan - Napoli
17
Mar
GERMANY: Bundesliga
Borussia Dortmund - Eintracht Frankfurt
17
Mar
ENGLAND: FA Cup
Chelsea - Leicester City
17
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
Roma - Sassuolo
17
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
Verona - AC Milan
17
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
Juventus - Genoa
17
Mar
GERMANY: Bundesliga
SC Freiburg - Bayer Leverkusen
17
Mar
USA: Major League Soccer
Atlanta United - Orlando City
17
Mar
ENGLAND: Premier League
West Ham United - Aston Villa
17
Mar
SPAIN: La Liga
Rayo Vallecano - Real Betis
17
Mar
ENGLAND: Championship
Leeds - Millwall
17
Mar
SPAIN: La Liga
Las Palmas - Almeria
17
Mar
SPAIN: La Liga
Villarreal - Valencia
17
Mar
SPAIN: La Liga
Sevilla - Celta Vigo
16
Mar
GERMANY: Bundesliga
Darmstadt - Bayern Munich
16
Mar
ENGLAND: FA Cup
Manchester City - Newcastle United
16
Mar
ENGLAND: Premier League
Fulham - Tottenham Hotspur
16
Mar
SPAIN: La Liga
Osasuna - Real Madrid
13
Mar
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: 1/8 Final
Atletico Madrid - Inter Milan
12
Mar
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: 1/8 Final
Barcelona - Napoli
12
Mar
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: 1/8 Final
Arsenal - Porto
11
Mar
ENGLAND: Premier League
Chelsea - Newcastle United
10
Mar
ENGLAND: Premier League
Liverpool - Manchester City
10
Mar
SPAIN: La Liga
Real Madrid - Celta Vigo
10
Mar
ENGLAND: Premier League
Aston Villa - Tottenham Hotspur
10
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
Juventus - Atalanta
10
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
Fiorentina - Roma
10
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
AC Milan - Empoli
09
Mar
GERMANY: Bundesliga
Werder Bremen - Borussia Dortmund
09
Mar
ENGLAND: Premier League
Arsenal - Brentford
09
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
Bologna - Inter Milan
Find us on Instagram
at @feedimo to stay up to date with the latest.
Featured Video You Might Like
zWJ3MxW_HWA L1eLanNeZKg i1XRgbyUtOo -g9Qziqbif8 0vmRhiLHE2U JFCZUoa6MYE UfN5PCF5EUo 2PV55f3-UAg W3y9zuI_F64 -7qCxIccihU pQ9gcOoH9R8 g5MRDEXRk4k
Copyright © 2020 Feedimo. All Rights Reserved.