--- title: "Teens Are Exploiting a Stupid Loophole in Flavored Vape Ban" description: "Massive loopholes in the Trump administration's recent flavored vape ban are already being exploited by teens, according to The New York Times." date: "2020-01-31" modified: "2020-01-31" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/neoscope/teens-exploiting-loophole-flavored-vape-ban" categories: - "Developments" - "Health & Medicine" tags: - "e-cigarettes" - "vape" - "vaping" --- # Teens Are Exploiting a Stupid Loophole in Flavored Vape Ban ![Massive loopholes in the Trump administration's recent flavored vape ban are already being exploited by teens, according to The New York Times.]() *\Image: Puff Bar/Victor Tangermann\* In an effort to curb underage use and amidst [growing epidemic]() of a "vaping-related illness," the Food and Drug Administration [banned all]() fruit and mint-flavored nicotine vaping pods, including the offerings by market leader Juul, at the beginning of this year. But teens are exploiting a glaring loophole in the ban, [*The New York Times* reports](): any flavors — banana ice, cherry crush, vivid vanilla, and so on included — are still being sold and bought legally as disposable e-cigarettes by brands such as Puff Bars and Stig, in contrast to reusable units with swappable pods. Even menthol and tobacco flavored pods, disposable or not, [got an exemption]() from the ban. "These disposable, completely self-contained e-cigarettes like Puff Bar and others share all of the characteristics that made Juul a problem," Rutgers Center for Tobacco Studies professor Kevin Schroth told the *Times*. Lawmakers are also fuming. "Cheap, accessible, fruit-flavored vaping devices are tailor-made to ensnare children and teens," Senator Jeff Merkeley, Democrat of Oregon, told the *Times* in an email. "President Trump needs to grow a spine and enact the real flavor ban he promised — not this loophole-ridden version that was tailor-made to appease the vaping industry." Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump has already voiced his regret over the ban, which he initially [endorsed]() back in September. "I should never have done that fucking vaping thing," he told Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar during a campaign meeting call earlier this month, [according to the *NYT*](). ## 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]()