Trump wants to be the hero that the newspapers don’t really need

In December of 2019, Mitch Zeller, who was managing at the time Food and Drug Administrationcenter for Tobacco Products, she received an urgent phone call from one of her colleague working at the agency.

A few months ago, President Donald Trump It was to manage it It has pledged to withdraw e-cigarettes in all flavors except tobacco from the market To suppress the epidemic of youth smoking experienced at that time Nearly 30 percent of American teens use nicotine.

By the time Zeller got that call in December, he says, he was… The white house He had different instructions for the FDA: limiting the ban to pod-based e-cigarettes, e.g Julesand leave the menthol flavors alone.

Zeller says this soft touch “absolutely” came because Trump, heading into the 2020 election year, was dismayed to back away from his original plans. “The White House has gone into political retreat,” Zeller says.

Nearly seven years later, in his second term, Trump is sending more forceful signals to the pro-e-cigarette public and the industry that supplies them. The payoff is unclear, since vapers make up a relatively small portion of the electorate, and there’s already a vast illicit market serving anyone who wants a flavored e-cigarette — but that hasn’t stopped Trump’s Food and Drug Administration from making things official.

Earlier this month, Reportedly under pressure from TrumpAgency It allowed the sale of raspberry and mango flavored vape juices Made by Glas, it marks the first time the agency has given its seal of approval to e-cigarette flavors other than tobacco and menthol. “Our data suggests 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,” a Glas spokesperson told WIRED.

still, According to the New York TimesThis decision was the final straw for recently departed FDA Commissioner Marty McCurry, who was concerned about the products’ appeal to children.

Zeller, who retired from the FDA in 2022, says he doesn’t have a front-row seat to Trump’s thinking these days. But he says the push for flavored e-cigarettes is “consistent with everything I’ve seen the president say publicly about how important the vaping constituency is to him politically,” as well as with his presidency. Seemingly cozy relationship with tobacco industry executives.

In a statement, White House spokesman Khush Desai told WIRED: “President Trump has pledged to continually expand access to e-cigarettes in light of a wealth of recent evidence finding that these products are beneficial for Americans trying to quit smoking. The single guiding factor behind the Trump administration’s health policymaking is Gold Standard Science.” Desai did not respond to questions about Trump’s desire to appeal to vapers; He also referred questions about Zeller’s recollection of the events to the Food and Drug Administration, which did not respond.

There are already studies Which suggests that flavored e-cigarettes are attractive to adults as well as children, perhaps Helping some make the shift From cigarettes to the electronic version, which may be less lethal. But Trump – the man who promised in the run-up to the 2024 election to “Save fumigation“And whose management was similarly friendly with other neighboring industries, incl anesthetic and Prediction markets– It seems that he was influenced by public opinion on this issue before.

His original plans to ban the flavor led to “We smoke, we vote“The movement, a diverse group of adult vapers and vape shop owners from across the country, including key swing states, is outraged by Trump’s planned crackdown.