WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Trump administration this month issued new Food and Drug Administration policies expanding the sale of flavored electronic cigarettes, including the first federal authorization of fruit-flavored vapes. The regulatory shift opened a pathway for tobacco companies to market flavored e-cigarettes and produced divisions among prominent voices in the Make America Healthy Again movement and some federal health officials.

The FDA issued a policy permitting companies that had submitted applications for flavored vapes but had not yet received approval to begin selling the products to adults without penalties. Last week, the agency authorized mango- and blueberry-flavored vapes from Glas Inc., the first fruit-flavored vapes to receive FDA clearance. Tobacco and menthol flavored vapes were already on the market. The authorized products must be paired with a smartphone so users can verify their age with a government-issued ID.

Richard Danker resigned Wednesday as senior spokesperson to Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy. In his resignation letter, Danker wrote that flavored e-cigarettes "would appeal to children and expose them to nicotine addiction, lung damage, and higher risk of cancer." The policies also contributed to the removal of FDA Commissioner Marty Makary. Some influencers in the Make America Healthy Again movement expressed frustration over the changes, citing concerns about the tobacco industry's influence on the FDA.

Tobacco industry executives and lobbyists met with President Trump at a lunch meeting in Jupiter, Florida, this month and expressed frustrations about barriers to selling flavored vapes. Trump subsequently called top administration health officials, including Kennedy, to express displeasure that flavored vape sales were being blocked, according to a source familiar with the matter.

White House spokesman Kush Desai defended the policy changes. "President Trump consistently pledged to expand access to vapes in light of an abundance of recent evidence finding that these products are beneficial for Americans trying to quit smoking. The only guiding factor behind the Trump administration's health policymaking is Gold Standard Science," Desai said.

Department of Health and Human Services spokesperson Emily Hilliard said a key factor in the FDA's decision was Glas's device access restriction technology. "Adults were generally able to complete the verification process successfully, while youth and young adults were not able to bypass the system effectively," Hilliard said. She said the FDA's guidance applies only to specific products complete and substantive enough to undergo scientific review, which requires tobacco companies to provide data demonstrating their products protect public health.

The recent changes represent a reversal from Trump's stance during his first term. In 2019, the FDA under his administration said it would ban flavored e-cigarettes, and Trump promised strong rules and regulations on the products. The administration later softened that plan, allowing menthol and tobacco flavors to remain on the market, along with flavored liquid nicotine in tank-based systems at vape shops. During his 2024 presidential campaign, Trump promised to protect vaping, stating that it could help people quit smoking and benefit small businesses.

The International Pediatric Association, a consortium of pediatric societies, said last year that e-cigarettes have not proved effective at helping people stop smoking.