WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� The will hear a on Monday, weighing federal regulators鈥� decisions blocking sweet vaping products after e-cigarette use spiked among kids.
The high court is from the , which has denied more than a million applications to sell candy- or fruit-flavored products that appeal to kids.
Those decisions are part of a crackdown that anti-tobacco advocates say helped drive down youth vaping to a decade low after an 鈥渆pidemic level鈥� peak in 2019.
But vaping companies pushed back in court, arguing that agency unfairly disregarded arguments that their sweet e-liquid products aren鈥檛 a big draw for kids but would help adults quit smoking traditional cigarettes.
The case comes shortly before the inauguration of President-elect , whose incoming administration could take a different approach after he vowed in a September social-media post to 鈥渟ave鈥� vaping.
Several lower courts rebuffed vaping company lawsuits, but the Dallas-based company Triton Distribution won at the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals. The court tossed out a decision blocking the sale of nicotine-laced liquids like 鈥淛immy The Juice Man in Peachy Strawberry鈥� that are heated by an e-cigarette to create an inhalable aerosol.
The FDA was slow to regulate the now multibillion-dollar vaping market, and even years into the crackdown flavored vapes that are technically illegal nevertheless remain
The agency has approved some tobacco-flavored vapes, and recently allowed its first menthol-flavored electronic cigarettes for adult smokers.
The block on sweet vapes, combined with stepped up enforcement, has helped drive down youth nicotine use to its lowest level in a decade, the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids said.
Lindsay Whitehurst, The Associated Press
