Trump Is Coming for Your Flavored E-Cigarettes, This Is Not a Drill

I’m beside myself: Out of nowhere, President Trump announced today that the administration will move to ban “all non-tobacco flavored vaping products from the market,” according to the White House pool.

“Not only is it a problem overall, but really specifically with respect for children,” Trump told reporters at the White House, with Melania by his side. “We may very well have to do something very, very strong about it.”

The move comes as the e-cigarette industry, of which Juul Labs has a commanding market share, has for months been staffing up with lobbyists and former political officials amid new regulatory scrutiny at both the federal and local level.

Previously, Juul pulled popular flavors like mango and cucumber off the market, a move they framed as an effort to cut down on teens vaping. Trump’s surprise announcement—which comes the day he commemorated 9/11 by talking about the Taliban and a day after his national security apparatus was rocked by John Bolton’s departure—is also timed with heavy media coverage of multiple, apparently previously healthy young people whose health rapidly deteriorated after vaping.

I finally understand all the fervent posturing around “big government” coming for my “personal liberty.” Begin hoarding now.