“He didn’t know much about the issue and was just doing it for Melania and Ivanka,” said a senior administration official
credit: Washington Post
According to the Washington Post, President Trump may be backing off from the vaping issue and slowing down the process all together. Over the course of the last few weeks, the Vaping industry has been garnering as much attention as they can. Through massive twitter campaigns, contacting admin officials, getting their voices heard in the media, to a rally, the vaping industry & community’s goal was to try and stop this incoming flavor ban. And it seems to have been working, as Trump recently walked back some of his proposals, and is now seeming to take some of the pressure off. This wouldn’t be the first time the President has taken a second look at a proposal.
Briefed on a flight to a Lexington, Ky., campaign rally, he refused to sign the one-page “decision memo,” saying he didn’t want to move forward with a ban he had once backed
credit: Washington Post
Officials, according to Washington Post, said the blowback from Trump’s proposal to ban flavored e-liquids rattled him. So to those who said their voices don’t matter and the rally would’ve been a waste of time….how about them apples? What also helped this movement was getting some of these unlikely allies to join our fight. From Paul Blair and the Norquist “American’s for Tax Reform” putting on pressure from the tea party. To Iowa AG Tom Miller, one of the instrumental figures in the MSA payout. To Joe Grogan, Domestic Policy Chief who doesn’t like health orgs regulating vice industries. To Brad Parscale, Trumps own campaign manager, getting in his ear telling him his ban would be a bad idea. To, of course, all the small businesses who have been making as much noise as possible. It all seemed to get to Trump, in an extremely efficient way. The Anti’s must be reeling.
So what happens now? Paul Blair says it best in his recent tweet.
Inaction from the administration on vaping is not a victory. Countless vape shops are already beginning to close because of consumer confusion and more will have to close in May (FDA application deadline to remain on the market) without certainty and transparency on regulations.
— Paul Blair (@gopaulblair) November 18, 2019
So it’s not a “win” yet. There still is a LOT of fight ahead. In fact, the fight has just begun. What we were recently dealing with was a huge distraction from the main goal of destroying the PMTA. Remember, the FDA still has strict authority over vapor products, and their May 2020 deadline is right around the corner. After this point, any e-liquid that hasn’t passed a PMTA will be illegal. So pressure, more than ever, needs to be put on Trump, his campaign, and more importantly, his FDA. Until then, we can’t let our guard down.