OPINION:
The newly inaugurated administration brings a crucial opportunity to combat chronic diseases, which claim hundreds of thousands of American lives annually, and one leading preventable cause of death – smoking – could be eradicated under the new administration. This could easily be achieved simply by following through with plans to reform the beleaguered U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to make it easier for smokers to quit by making the switch to less harmful products.
President Trump has pledged to protect flavored vaping, which is known to be 95% safer than combustible cigarettes, while Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has vowed to overhaul the FDA. For the tens of millions of adult smokers, these changes cannot come soon enough.
Since 2009, the FDA has regulated tobacco products but has performed dismally in fostering innovation and technological advancements in tobacco harm reduction, including e-cigarettes, heated tobacco, and oral nicotine products. Despite conspiracy theories and misinformation spread by anti-harm reduction activists, vaping and other alternative nicotine products are a consumer-driven revolution rooted in science that thrived before unelected federal bureaucrats imposed significant barriers to entry.
E-cigarettes first came to the United States in 2006, and between 2009 and 2012, “retail sales … expanded to all major markets in the United States.” It wasn’t until 2012 when Lorillard purchased the blu e-cigarette brand, marking the first significant connection between e-cigarettes and Big Tobacco.
Before the FDA required product authorization, small American manufacturers were innovating freely, offering adult smokers products that facilitated their transition to safer alternatives. However, in 2016, the FDA classified e-cigarettes and other novel products as “tobacco products,” (despite them containing no tobacco) and mandating manufacturers to submit costly applications to market their products legally.
Initially overwhelmed by the volume of applications, the FDA extended submission deadlines. However, public health trade associations—many funded by billionaire anti-vaping advocate Michael Bloomberg—sued the FDA to shorten these timelines. In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, a court ruling forced companies to submit their applications by September to legally sell their products.
The FDA has received more than 26 million applications and has acted upon 99 percent of submissions. Yet, to date, it has authorized only 34 e-cigarette products, all restricted to tobacco and menthol flavors. This is grossly inadequate for the more than 20 million adult vapers in the United States. Whistleblowers from the Agency’s own staff have spoken up about how FDA leadership has consistently pushed for restrictions for political reasons, that were completely at odds with the science, and the agency’s mandate to protect public health.
Trump and RFK Jr. must address this systemic failure by the agency responsible for protecting public health. Since their introduction, e-cigarettes and other reduced risk products have helped millions worldwide quit smoking, contributing to sharp declines in smoking rates and driving economic growth through job creation and potential tax revenue.
Countries such as the UK and New Zealand actively encourage adult smokers to switch to e-cigarettes, recognizing them as less harmful and effective tools for quitting smoking, while the use of Snus in Sweden has already made it officially the first smoke free developed country in the world.
During his previous term, President Trump addressed a surge in youth vaping, but since 2019, youth vaping rates have plummeted and by 2023, CDC data showed daily use of e-cigarettes by middle and high school students as low as 1.55%, while adults are continuing to use them to quit at record numbers, making it a priority for the incoming Administration to implement policies that will make it even easier for more Americans to make the switch.
To support American innovation, enhance public health, and provide better options for millions of smokers, Trump and RFK Jr. must reform the FDA’s regulatory process to make safer alternatives accessible, and overhaul the agency’s mindset from prohibition to harm reduction. Millions of lives quite literally depend on it.
• Tim Andrews is Director of Consumer Issues at Americans for Tax Reform.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.