FDA approves four flavored vapes days after pressure campaign from Trump

Four flavored vapes have been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration days after a pressure campaign from President Donald Trump, a new report claims.

On Tuesday, the FDA announced approval of marketing of two menthol and two fruit-flavored vapes made by Los Angeles-based brand Glas. The decision came hot on the heels of Trump going off on FDA Administrator Marty Makary over the weekend for not approving flavored vape products more quickly, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Trump then asked his advisers Monday for advice about the FDA commissioner and how flavored vape products could be important to younger Republican voters, according to the report.

Those advisers reportedly said Makary could pose problems for the administration and its e-cigarette agenda. The White House has argued these products can help adults who want to quit smoking.

Makary previously wanted to avoid approving fruity flavors to protect public health but he and Trump at one point had talked about changing course on the products, the WSJ reported.

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The approved Glas vape pods come in two menthol flavors and two fruit flavors (mango and blueberry).

When it comes to concerns over the risks to young people, the FDA said Glas’ technology forces users to verify their age and name with a government-issued ID and pair the vape with their phone via Bluetooth.

“Following verification, the device will not operate if separated from the phone. The app also conducts random biometric check-ins to periodically confirm the registered user is the one using the device,” the FDA said.

Bret Koplow, acting director of the FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products, praised the move. “By helping to prevent youth use, device access restrictions are a potential game changer,” he said in a statement.

Glas CEO Sean Greenbaum said the company was “pleased” to have received marketing approval for the four products.

“Our data show that flavored products can play an important role in helping adult smokers move away from combustible cigarettes, while our technology is designed to help limit youth access and support responsible use,” Greenbaum told The Independent.

“We recognize that these authorizations come with strict requirements and ongoing FDA oversight, and we support that framework. Glas has built our platform to meet these expectations, including strong marketing controls and post-market monitoring,” the statement added.

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Trump has raised the minimum age to buy tobacco from 18 to 21 and put a limited ban on some e-cigarette flavors during his first term in the White House. Trump then vowed to “save vaping again” while on the 2024 campaign trail.

Former President Joe Biden also contributed to the wider crackdown on nicotine products with fruit or candy flavors. The FDA rejected more than a million applications to market vapes with these flavors under his administration, according to the Associated Press.

Some health experts have warned that certain flavors can contribute to underage vaping.

“There is evidence that kids like the flavors like bubble gum, fruit and candy, and like trying new ones. For a lot of young people, it might be that the only reason they vape or use e-cigarettes is because they like the flavors,” said Johns Hopkins cardiologist Michael Blaha.

White House spokesperson Kush Desai accused the Biden administration of cracking down on flavored vapes “despite an abundance of evidence finding that these products are beneficial for adults trying to quit smoking.”

“The only factor guiding the Trump administration’s health policymaking is Gold Standard Science, and the FDA under Commissioner Makary’s trailblazing leadership will continue to make evidence-based decisions that rectify the Biden administration’s missteps and that are in the best interest of the American people,” he told The Independent.

The FDA referred The Independent to the White House for comment.

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