David Jackson | USA TODAY

USA TODAY

WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump said Wednesday he will seek to ban the sale of flavored vaping products in an effort to get young people to give up the potential dangers of e-cigarettes.

"It's causing a lot of problems and we're going to have to do something about it," Trump said after a White House meeting with health policy advisers. "There have been deaths and there have been a lot of other problems."

The Food and Drug Administration will soon issue guidance on how to take flavored vaping products off the market, said Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar, a process that could take weeks or months.

The Food and Drug Administration said in a statement that it would soon release details on a policy that aims to remove unauthorized, flavored e-cigarette products from the market.

“The progress we’ve made in reducing youth tobacco use is jeopardized by the onslaught of e-cigarette use,” tweeted Ned Sharpless, the FDA’s acting commissioner. “Nobody wants to see children becoming addicted to nicotine & we will continue to use our regulatory authority thoughtfully & thoroughly to tackle this public health crisis.” The agency released preliminary data from the 2019 National Youth Tobacco Survey showing more than one quarter of high school students used e-cigarettes in the past 30 days. The “overwhelming majority” of underage vapers cited the use of fruit, menthol or mint flavors, the FDA said.

Products are currently sold under an FDA waiver.

It's unclear whether vaping companies could take legal action to block a ban.

Supporters of vaping called the proposed ban unfair, saying it would bankrupt businesses, create a black market, and cause some ex-smokers to return to tobacco.

"A ban will remove life-changing options from the market that have been used by several million American adults to quit smoking," said Gregory Conley, president of the American Vaping Association. “In the history of the United States, prohibition has never worked. It didn’t work with alcohol. It hasn’t worked with marijuana. It won’t work with e-cigarettes."

Just the FAQs, USA TODAY

Supporters said health problems have been caused by contaminated vaping cartridges.

Several groups critical of vaping applauded the Trump administration’s plan to ban the sale of e-cigarette flavoring.

Nancy Brown, CEO of the American Heart Association, said that vaping companies such as JUUL have targeted youth and adolescents through marketing campaigns and flavors that attract kids.

“Federal officials should immediately remove all flavored e-cigarettes from the market,” Brown said. “They should also take other necessary measures to end all marketing to children, prohibit online sales of e-cigarettes, exercise rigorous pre-market review and closely review e-cigarette products already on the market.”

Doctors who have treated teens and young adults with severe, vaping related illnesses said banning flavors might help curb new cases of addiction.

Melodi Pirzada is a pediatric pulmonologist at NYU Winthrop Hospital who has treated teens who developed life-threatening lung injuries after vaping marijuana.

She said banning flavored vaping products might prevent teens from getting hooked on nicotine. But she still sees black market products that contain THC and other substances still pose a risk to vapers.

“I don’t think that is going to result in curbing the vaping-associated lung injuries,” Pirzada said of banning flavored vaping products. “I really feel that the problem is bigger than that. The black-market products are the main issue.”

Members of Congress have also discussed taking action amid concern about the physical effects of e-cigarettes. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is investigating more than 450 cases of lung disease that some officials believe were triggered by vaping.

At least six deaths have been attributed to the mysterious lung disease.

Democratic lawmakers applauded the move. Rep. Diana DeGette, D-Col., tweeted that she rarely agrees with the Trump administration, but does in this case because "these flavored nicotine products are causing real harm to the health of our children."

Matthew L. Myers, president of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, called it a "long overdue step" that "must be comprehensive, immediate and long-lasting."

Two days ago, first lady Melania Trump expressed concern about "the growing epidemic" of e-cigarette use by children. She tweeted, "we need to do all we can to protect the public from tobacco-related disease and death, and prevent e-cigarettes from becoming an on-ramp to nicotine addiction for a generation of youth."

Melania Trump and vaping:First lady tweets she is ‘deeply concerned’ about youth vaping

A, AP