--- title: "FDA Bans All Vape Pod Flavors Except Tobacco and Menthol" description: "The Food and Drug Administration announced a ban on most fruit and mint-flavored nicotine vaping products to reign in use by teenagers." date: "2020-01-02" modified: "2020-01-02" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/neoscope/fda-ban-vaping-pod-flavors" categories: - "Developments" - "Health & Medicine" tags: - "fda" - "nicotine" - "vaping" --- # FDA Bans All Vape Pod Flavors Except Tobacco and Menthol ![The Food and Drug Administration announced a ban on most fruit and mint-flavored nicotine vaping products to reign in use by teenagers.]() *\Image: Juul\* The U.S. Food and Drug Administration [announced]() on Thursday that it is banning all fruit and mint-flavored nicotine vaping pods in order to reign in use by teenagers, [*CNBC* reports](). Tobacco and menthol-flavored pods will still be available. The FDA has been under pressure to tackle the [epidemic]() of teens getting hooked on nicotine-containing products. The news comes after the FDA [officially raised]() the legal age to buy any tobacco products to 21 last week. The policy specifically targets "certain unauthorized flavored e-cigarette products that appeal to kids, including fruit and mint flavors," according to an official statement. Businesses risk "FDA enforcement actions" if they don't comply with the policy within 30 days. The policy specifically bans cartridge-based nicotine pods, which notably includes a good chunk of market leader Juul's offerings — though, to be fair, the company has already been positioning itself for such a ban. In response to pressure from the FDA and the Trump administration, Juul [officially halted]() sales of its popular mint flavor in November. The sale of manually fillable nicotine liquid tanks of fruit and mint flavors are still allowed, *CNBC* reports. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services secretary Alex Azar told reporters today that the move was unrelated to the recent outbreak of a mysterious ["vaping illness"]() that over [50 people]() have died from as of late December. “As we work to combat the troubling epidemic of youth e-cigarette use, the enforcement policy we’re issuing today confirms our commitment to dramatically limit children’s access to certain flavored e-cigarette products we know are so appealing to them," said FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn in the statement. ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()