Vaping bans could hurt — not help — public health, some scientists say

As states weigh bans on flavored e-cigarettes — and the federal government considers how to regulate them — a handful of scientists argue in a new paper that such bans could inadvertently end up hurting public health. E-cigarettes have shown to be effective for tobacco users who are looking to stop smoking cigarettes, the authors argue, but this could be hindered by limits placed on vaping products. They also say that policies should zero in on menthol, since more than half of all young people — and over 90% of African American youth — start smoking with menthol products first. However, the scientists argue that more harmful traditional cigarettes, not vaping products, ought to deserve more aggressive regulation. “Policies that fail to differentiate [between the two] will fail public health,” the scientists write.