A potential ban on flavoured e-cigarettes in the U.S. is a welcome step towards greater regulation of vaping products, says the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit.

“It’s encouraging to see federal governments start to have those types of conversations,” said Eric Nadalin, a manager in the WECHU’s health promotion department.

“Certainly, the concern with flavoured e-cigarettes is their attractiveness to youths. It’s something that we do want to acknowledge and develop protections against.”

On Wednesday, U.S. President Donald Trump announced a proposal for new enforcement policies by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that would effectively remove flavoured e-cigarettes from the U.S. vaping market.

The only flavour of e-cigarette that would remain available in the U.S. is tobacco.

U.S. President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump speak about vaping issues with U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar and Norman Sharpless, acting administrator of the FDA, in the Oval Office on Sept. 11, 2019. Lean Millis / Reuters

Vaping has been a pet issue of first lady Melania Trump, who has expressed worry about “the growing epidemic of e-cigarette use in our children.”

According to Melania Trump, more must be done to prevent vaping from becoming “an on-ramp to nicotine addiction for a generation of youth.”

The FDA has formally warned Juul — the most popular e-cigarette manufacturer in the U.S. — about the company’s marketing tactics, particularly regarding the promotion of vaping as a safer alternative to regular cigarettes and the targeting of young consumers.

WECHU’s Nadalin shares Melania Trump’s concern. “Young people readily go into convenience stores and see promotions for these types of flavoured products,” he said. “Right next to candies and slushies.”

Earlier this summer, Nadalin authored an information report for the WECHU board of directors on youth vaping in Windsor and Essex County.

The report outlined a “school vaping prevention toolkit” that WECHU has begun distributing to all secondary schools in the city and region.

The toolkit’s guides, fact sheets, posters, and postcards are meant to inform young people about the health impacts of e-cigarette use.

As well, the WECHU has joined provincial partners in a communication campaign on the potential harms of vaping — set to begin this month.

Flavoured e-cigarette products for sale in Manhattan, New York City, on Sept. 10, 2019. Mike Segar / Reuters

But the Canadian Vaping Association argues that Trump’s banning of flavoured e-cigarettes actually increases public health risk by affecting those who use vaping products as a tool to quit smoking.

The association suggests that vapers will be driven back to traditional tobacco use, or turn to the blackmarket for their vaping products.

“By villainizing flavoured nicotine e-liquid … President Trump and his administration are actively supporting the interests of big tobacco under the guise of youth protection,” stated the Canadian Vaping Association on Thursday.

Charlie Pisano, CEO of retail company VapeMeet — who have a store in downtown Windsor — feels Melania Trump and the WECHU are overreacting in their fears that flavoured e-cigarettes are drawing young people into tobacco addiction.

“The evidence shows the exact opposite of that. It’s smokers converting to vaping, not vapers converting to smoking,” Pisano said.

“I think (the WECHU) are unfamiliar with the facts. Vaping is scientifically proven, the world over, to be 95 per cent less harmful than traditional smoking.”

“The youth ‘epidemic’ is completely blown out of proportion … Sure, educational campaigns are effective and should be encouraged. We don’t want youths vaping. However, that shouldn’t prevent adult consumers from having access to a safer smoking alternative.”

Asked how business is going at VapeMeet’s Windsor location, Pisano said the store is thriving.

“It’s great. The Windsor community is fantastic,” he said. “We interact with our customers a lot.”