In September, The Trump Administration announced a proposed ban on flavored e-cigarettes. Alex Azar, the Health and Human Services Secretary said the FDA will enact the policy soon.
The proposed ban so far does not mention CBD or vitamin vape cartridges, leaving many questions on the fate of non-nicotine vape products.
The ban is a response to 450 cases of lung illness caused by e-cigarettes. Since the ban was proposed in September, that number has grown to 2,290, a 408% increase. 47 of these cases have proven fatal. Medical professionals have not yet determined the direct cause of this illness which includes symptoms such as breathing difficulties, pneumonia, fever, fatigue, and more. One potential cause is the vitamin E infused with the vaped liquids. The CDC has yet to determine a single cause of the illness.
Many patients affected have reported using vaping products that contain either CBD or TCH and wonder if the proposed ban from the Trump administration will include these products as well. The FDA has yet to announce if the ban includes CBD and TCH vape products.
“Unlike tobacco, cannabis isn’t federally legal, so the vast majority of these tragic vape incidents [involving cannabis products] are due to the black market,” says Maggie Connors, founder of Besito, a vaping company in Los Angeles with products that include both CBD and THC. “And when something’s prohibited, it forces consumers to go to extreme measures to create what they want. So a lot of these instances this summer are what I call an extreme measure of people having to mix cartridges at home.”
Several Senators from New York released a report in June said counterfeit and vape products made in China contributed to the lung disease.
Vape and CBD companies fear if the ban includes CBD and TCH products that consumers will turn to counterfeit and black market products which will only increase those affected with illness and add to the death toll.
On November 19, The American Medical Association (AMA), called for a total ban on vaping products.