The Long Goodbye to Fruity Vape Flavors

The Food and Drug Administration has stepped up enforcement of its rule against the sale of most flavored e-cigarette pods, which are blamed for luring millions of children into vaping. But the initiative is somewhat of a compromise with the tobacco industry. It still allows the sale of menthol and tobacco-flavored vaping cartridges, which aren’t as popular with teens. (Vaping advocates lobbied to keep these products on the market by arguing that they are a better alternative to cigarettes.) The rule also doesn’t apply to flavored liquid nicotine for larger vaping devices with refillable tanks, which are widely available in vape shops but aren’t as sleek or discreet as their pod-based counterparts. Companies have 30 days to comply.

Image Credit... Giacomo Bagnara

What’s Next? (Jan. 5-11)

Making It Official

Ever a fan of pomp, President Trump announced a signing ceremony for the “Phase 1” China trade deal at the White House on Jan. 15. He said that “high-level representatives of China” would attend but did not say who. And while he called the deal “very large and comprehensive,” details still have not been released. The agreement took almost two years to negotiate and marks a truce in the protracted trade war between the world’s two largest economies. Mr. Trump said that he would travel to Beijing “at a later date” to start talks for a larger, more comprehensive “Phase 2” agreement.

Oil Prices React to Attack

Amid rising tensions with Tehran, Mr. Trump ordered an airstrike that killed Qassim Suleimani, Iran’s ruthless security and intelligence commander. It was a bold move — some would say reckless — and Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, vowed revenge. Global markets fell in reaction to the news on Friday, with oil prices rising sharply. The killing has provoked anxieties of a larger conflict that could drag in other countries. The Middle East supplies 25 percent of the world’s oil, and Iran borders a critical passage for petroleum transportation.

Brexit Barrels Forth

The British Parliament will resume sessions this week to debate Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Brexit agreement. But now that Mr. Johnson’s party holds a sweeping government majority, his deal is expected to move along quickly, although it probably won’t pass in time for the Jan. 31 deadline. It remains to be seen whether Britain’s departure from the European Union will leave its economy better off. But for now, the British pound is looking strong and the country seems confident. And Mr. Johnson’s opposition, the left-leaning Labour Party, hasn’t looked this weak in decades. It is looking for a new leader since its former head, Jeremy Corbyn, was trounced in the December election.