Trump might reset vaping policy

A public health expert in the US has said that a Trump presidency and Republican control of the Senate could present an opportunity to craft a sensible regulatory strategy for electronic cigarettes and vaping products.

Writing on his blog, The Rest of the Story, Dr. Michael Siegel, a Professor in the Department of Community Health Sciences, Boston University School of Public Health, said that from a public health perspective, there were many reasons to be concerned about the outcome of Tuesday’s election.

‘However, there is one reason to potentially be encouraged,’ he said. ‘With a Trump presidency, and with Republican control of the Senate, we ironically have a tremendous opportunity to once and for all craft a sensible regulatory strategy for electronic cigarettes and vaping products.’

Although the issue was not directly addressed during the campaign, Siegel said he would expect President-elect Trump to be supportive of vaping products and especially of the thousands of small businesses that were likely going to be forced out of business under the Food and Drug Administration’s current nicotine regulatory policy. ‘In addition, we know that there are several Republican senators (whose party will now control the Senate) who are sympathetic to the public health damage being done by current policy. Moreover, several senators have specifically considered holding hearings on the issue and are amenable to the introduction of legislation to chart a different course than the FDA is currently taking.’

The Rest of the Story is at: http://tobaccoanalysis.blogspot.co.uk/