Rocky Mountain Smoke-Free Alliance Praises President Trump for Raising the Age to Purchase Vaping Products to 21

Michelle Lyng 

mblyng@novitascommunications.com

Amanda Wheeler, vice president of the Rocky Mountain Smoke-Free Alliance, provided the following statement in response to President Donald Trump raising the legal age of vaping to 21, a position for which RMSFA supported and advocated.

“I want to thank President Trump for his signature that raises the legal age of vaping to 21 nationwide. RMSFA has long advocated for an older legal age for vaping. This move will reduce youth access to vaping products while still allowing responsible adults to purchase flavored vaping products. Ninety-six percent of our customers purchase flavored tobacco products because flavors help reduce their desire for smoking more harmful cigarettes.

“We are hopeful that the President and FDA will avoid sweeping, irrational policy like flavor bans as the administration implements this policy. Millions of American adults depend on flavored nicotine vapor as a smoking cessation method, and it’s clearly working, as cigarette smoking continues to plummet across nearly every American demographic. We are encouraged that the federal government took a more measured approach in addressing concerns around vaping and we look forward to continuing to serve as a resource to the Federal Drug Administration as it implements the new legislation.”

Now that the legislation is signed, the FDA has 180 days to update its regulations and the new age requirement will go into effect 90 days later.