Utah Senator Mitt Romney argued that flavored e-cigarettes and vaping juices like “unicorn poop” should be banned because of their attractiveness to children.
President Donald Trump hosted a lively discussion at the White House about the benefits and dangers of vaping flavors. The president spent over an hour listening to supporters for banning vaping flavors as well as vape industry advocates who have sharply criticized the president’s proposed ban.
Trump proposed a ban on all vaping flavors in September but has since backed off the idea. Reports cited White House officials who say that Trump is reassessing his views on flavored vaping and e-cigarettes after seeing polling from his campaign manager Brad Pascale on the issue.
Senator Mitt Romney participated in the discussion in support of a ban on flavored vaping. He argued that most adults were not using vape flavors, earning a strong reaction from vape industry supporters who disagreed.
Romney noted that flavors like “unicorn poop” were branded that way to appeal to children.
“Utah is a Mormon state, and half the kids in high school are vaping,’ he warned.
Romney cited Juul’s decision to voluntarily end flavors because of the dangers to children, but some of the executives present argued that most of their sales were flavored juices.
The president, who has clearly been listening to vaping advocates in recent weeks, warned that prohibition could only force people to seek out vaping juices off the street.
“They could be selling something on a street corner that could be horrible… they are going to have a flavor that is poison,” he said.