Will There Be A Vaping, E-Cigarette Product Ban? Top Doctors Issue Warning

The American Medical Association is calling for a complete ban on vaping in the wake of a lung disease outbreak that has killed more than 40 people and sickened hundreds more.

At its semi-annual House of Delegates meeting in San Diego, the AMA adopted a resolution Monday, calling for a “a total ban on all e-cigarette and vaping products that do not meet Food and Drug Administration approval as cessation tools.”

The AMA said it was especially concerned over the spike in youth e-cigarette use. The resolution called for “regulatory, legislative, and/or legal action” at the state or federal level to ban the sale of vaping products except for those the FDA has approved for people trying to wean themselves from cigarettes.

The doctors’ organization also called for funding to study the effectiveness of vaping products for smoking cessation, the use of drugs to deal with nicotine addiction, and the use of vaping and cigarettes by those less than 18 years of age. Additionally, the AMA called for collaboration with health care professionals “to persuade retail pharmacies to immediately cease sales of tobacco products” and advocate for diagnostic codes for illnesses associated with e-cigarettes and vaping.

“The recent lung illness outbreak has alarmed physicians and the broader public health community and shined a light on the fact that we have very little evidence about the short- and long-term health consequences of e-cigarettes and vaping products,” AMA President Patrice A. Harris said in a press release. “It’s simple – we must keep nicotine products out of the hands of young people and that’s why we are calling for an immediate ban on all e-cigarette and vaping products from the market.”

Harris said with the number of teens using vaping products, more research is critical.

The AMA called on media outlets to reject advertising for e-cigarette products aimed at young people and for an increase in the minimum age for buying vaping products to 21. It also urged e-commerce officials to enforce existing policies to keep illicit vaping products off their platforms.

Earlier this week, President Trump backtracked on a pledge to ban flavored vaping products that attract teenage users.

In its latest update, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said 2,172 people had been affected by vaping related lung disease, leading to 42 deaths. The report said the median age of those who died was 52, with ages ranging from 17 to 75. Of those hospitalized, victims as young as 13 were affected, with the median age 24. Investigators have not pinpointed a cause for the illnesses but have said residue of vitamin E acetate has been found in lung tissue.

Doctors performed a double-lung transplant Oct. 15 on a 17-year-old youth suffering from vaping-related lung disease. Doctors at Henry Ford Hospital said the youth had been facing imminent death.