AFP, Washington :
While most of Washington is gripped by the impeachment storm swirling around Donald Trump, a few blocks up Pennsylvania Avenue from the White House, hundreds of executives are pondering another potential presidential upheaval.
Trump has floated the possibility of soon banning flavoured e-cigarette products-and even banning vaping altogether. And stakeholders in the world of tobacco and nicotine are none too pleased.
The consensus at a global industry forum that ends Thursday in the nation’s capital? Times are tough.
In the past three weeks, India and the US state of Massachusetts have banned the sale of e-cigarettes. Two other states-New York and Michigan-have prohibited flavoured e-cigarettes.
And from October, the Trump administration wants to ban all but tobacco-flavoured products. While Europe so far has escaped similar measures, the product that many industry experts believed would be their future is instead under attack.
At the Global Tobacco & Nicotine Forum, the nearly 400 in attendance are in agreement that the priority is to stop what they see as knee-jerk bans by worried governments.
“This is a pivotal moment for the industry,” said Howard Willard, the chairman and CEO of tobacco giant Altria, a major stakeholder in the top US e-cigarette maker Juul.
“Vaping is at an inflection point.”
On Wednesday, just before the industry forum opened for the day in Washington, Juul announced a corporate shake-up, including the replacement of its CEO.
The industry is facing two problems: the increasing popularity of vaping among young people and the recent explosion of cases of pulmonary illnesses, some of them fatal, apparently linked to tainted vaping refill cartridges bought on the black market.
While most of Washington is gripped by the impeachment storm swirling around Donald Trump, a few blocks up Pennsylvania Avenue from the White House, hundreds of executives are pondering another potential presidential upheaval.
Trump has floated the possibility of soon banning flavoured e-cigarette products-and even banning vaping altogether. And stakeholders in the world of tobacco and nicotine are none too pleased.
The consensus at a global industry forum that ends Thursday in the nation’s capital? Times are tough.
In the past three weeks, India and the US state of Massachusetts have banned the sale of e-cigarettes. Two other states-New York and Michigan-have prohibited flavoured e-cigarettes.
And from October, the Trump administration wants to ban all but tobacco-flavoured products. While Europe so far has escaped similar measures, the product that many industry experts believed would be their future is instead under attack.
At the Global Tobacco & Nicotine Forum, the nearly 400 in attendance are in agreement that the priority is to stop what they see as knee-jerk bans by worried governments.
“This is a pivotal moment for the industry,” said Howard Willard, the chairman and CEO of tobacco giant Altria, a major stakeholder in the top US e-cigarette maker Juul.
“Vaping is at an inflection point.”
On Wednesday, just before the industry forum opened for the day in Washington, Juul announced a corporate shake-up, including the replacement of its CEO.
The industry is facing two problems: the increasing popularity of vaping among young people and the recent explosion of cases of pulmonary illnesses, some of them fatal, apparently linked to tainted vaping refill cartridges bought on the black market.
