Cracking Down on Ecigator Vapes While Legalizing Marijuana vaporizers: US Senate Majority Leader Accused of Double Standards
Former legal counsel and Senate communications director Brian Darling recently penned a column titled "Bad Vaping Policy From the FDA" for InsideSources, a US media outlet. In the article, Darling highlights how some lawmakers are attempting to expand regulatory agency power without considering the urgency and severity of other pressing issues, revealing a double standard in the process.
Darling points out that the United States is currently grappling with critical concerns such as rising food and consumer prices, government debt, housing costs, banking stability, employment, and excessive government power. In comparison, the issue of electronic cigarettes is relatively less significant.
According to Darling, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is utilizing resources to push for a government agency investigation into an e-cigarette company simply because he dislikes the company's e-cigarette sales in his state. Darling argues that this type of policy is detrimental, as it distorts the power of regulatory agencies.
Darling mentions Schumer's renewed war against e-cigarettes, requesting regulatory agencies to prevent a company from using Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs) on social media platforms to educate e-cigarette users about their products. Citing a previous report from the New York Post, Schumer has targeted the e-cigarette product "Elf Bar" for elimination. He demands that the FDA investigate this popular Chinese-manufactured e-cigarette, claiming it violates US advertising laws by directly appealing to children and teenagers through social media.
Darling highlights Schumer's double standards, noting that if the war against e-cigarettes were genuinely about protecting minors, Schumer would not be pushing for federal legalization of flavored marijuana products. Schumer co-sponsored the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act, which aims to remove marijuana from the controlled substances list.
While Darling supports the removal of marijuana from the list, he argues that considering some states allow marketing of flavored products that appeal to adults, it is not credible to solely ban flavored e-cigarettes to protect minors from harm.
In conclusion, Darling emphasizes that imposing more big-government policies on the American people through the FDA is bad policy. He suggests that Schumer and others who support this flawed policy should step down from their positions.