American Medical Association calls for immediate vaping ban

The American Medical Association (AMA) called for an immediate vaping ban for all products not approved by the Food and Drug Administration to help people quit tobacco use, in a release Tuesday.

The AMA voted Tuesday to request federal and state governments boycott the selling of vaping and e-cigarette products. The vote came in response to the recent links to more than 40 deaths and about 2,100 illnesses to vaping.

{mosads}“It’s simple — we must keep nicotine products out of the hands of young people and that’s why we are calling for an immediate ban on all e-cigarette and vaping products from the market,” AMA President Patrice Harris said in the statement. “With the number of young people using e-cigarettes spiking it is not only critical that there is research into nicotine addiction treatments for this population, but it is imperative that we continue efforts to prevent youth from ever using nicotine.” 

The AMA said it would advocate for additional research on using these products to quit tobacco use and on the effects of nicotine dependence and tobacco use disorder on youth populations.

The association pledged to work with health professionals to call on pharmacies to stop selling tobacco products and to develop “diagnostic codes” for illnesses related to vaping.

Some experts criticized the AMA’s call, saying legal tobacco products have been proven to cause more health problems than e-cigarettes.

“It would be a mistake for adult smokers and their families to listen to these misguided prohibitionists, as the evidence continues to indicate that adult smokers who switch to nicotine vaping products greatly improve their health,” Gregory Conley, the president of the American Vaping Association, told The Associated Press. 

President Trump has proposed a ban on flavored vaping products to combat youth vaping rates, which surveys have indicated are on the rise. But recent reports have said the president has stopped plans to ban these flavors.

The AP noted that many of the people who have fallen ill due to the use of e-cigarettes said they also vaped products that contained THC, which is found in marijuana, not tobacco.