November 6, 2024, Donald Trump has been elected as the President of the United States in the 2024 election. As the world’s largest e-cigarette market, the regulatory direction and policies of the United States have significant global implications. Industry stakeholders worldwide are keenly observing how the new administration will regulate e-cigarettes and what the future holds for the U.S. vaping market.
During his first term, the Trump administration implemented a limited ban on flavored e-cigarettes. Prior to this, Trump had pledged to prohibit all gas stations and convenience stores from selling flavored vaping products. However, just two days later, he reversed his stance on X (formerly Twitter), stating that e-cigarettes can help people quit smoking.
He also posted on the social media platform Truth Social:
“In 2019, I saved flavored e-cigarettes, which greatly helped people quit smoking. I also raised the purchasing age to 21, preventing ‘kids’ from accessing them. Kamala [Harris] and Joe [Biden] wanted to ban everything, causing small businesses across the country to close down. I will save e-cigarettes again.”
With the onset of his new term, uncertainty looms over the vaping policies Trump will introduce. The global industry is eager to understand the potential regulatory shifts that could affect both domestic and international markets.
Tom Beaudet, CEO of U.S. compliance firm Accorto, shared his insights on the regulatory approaches and actions of both the Trump administration and the previous Democratic administration regarding e-cigarettes. He emphasized that during the past four years under Democratic leadership, despite millions of reduced-harm product applications being submitted, only nine received approval.
Beaudet predicts that under the new administration, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) may gradually establish a clearer market entry pathway. “The FDA could streamline the approval process, enabling companies that submit comprehensive scientific data to gain market access more swiftly,” he stated.
As the world watches, the decisions made by the Trump administration in the coming months will be pivotal for the future of the e-cigarette industry, both domestically and internationally. Companies and consumers alike await further announcements regarding regulatory policies that could redefine the landscape of e-cigarette usage in the United States.
