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President Trump’s decision to hold off on a possible ban of flavored e-cigarettes drew a harsh response from some members of Congress, who say it appears the White House is doing an about-face. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D., Ill.), whose House subcommittee held a recent hearing on youth vaping, wrote Monday to the White House Office of Management and Budget and the Food and Drug Administration to inquire into the status of the proposed regulation on flavors. “The strong promises made by the President and his Administration to address the youth vaping epidemic were incredibly encouraging,” he wrote. “Now, however, the delay in finalizing the Administration’s compliance policy raises deep concerns.” (Burton and Leary, 11/18)

The White House Office of Management and Budget completed regulatory review of a proposed rule about “electronic nicotine delivery systems” on Nov. 4, and canceled meetings with public health advocates as well as pro-vaping groups. But the rule was never published. Krishnamoorthi noted that under normal practice, when the White House regulatory agency completes its review, it sends the action back to the relevant federal agency, and the agency promptly publishes the final action. (Weixel, 11/18)

It's been more than two months since President Donald Trump announced that he would ban kid-friendly flavored e-cigarettes, and public health groups are losing patience. But the administration has taken no action yet, fueling speculation that Trump is backing away from a ban because doing so may cost him votes next November. "We are deeply troubled by reports that politics may be interfering with policy that would prevent children from the dangers of e-cigarettes," Nancy Brown, CEO of the American Heart Association, said in a statement. (Edwards and Siemaszko, 11/18)

The Trump administration’s delay of rules that would restrict flavored  e-cigarettes may look like a win for the industry right now, but it will come at a steep cost later, according to former FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb. “Delays on regulatory steps to combat youth vaping may be a Pyrrhic victory for outside vaping groups fighting reasonable action to stop kid use of the products; putting the entire opportunity at risk and making bipartisan legislation to impose restrictions increasingly inevitable,” Gottlieb said over Twitter Sunday night. A Pyrrhic victory is one achieved at “excessive cost,” according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary. (Lovelace, 11/18)

The state of California on Monday sued e-cigarette maker Juul Labs Inc, alleging the San Francisco company engaged in a "systematic" and "wildly successful" campaign to attract teenagers to its nicotine devices. The lawsuit draws on internal correspondence and other evidence, asserting the company did little to prevent sales to underage customers. It also claims that Juul used a "flawed" age-verification process for online sales. (Kirkham, 11/19)

Although the state bars sales of the devices to people younger than 21, the lawsuit alleges electronic cigarette firms made products with nicotine that appealed to young smokers by marketing flavors such as mango, cool mint, crème brûlée and cucumber. “We’ve worked too hard, committed our hard-earned money for too long combating harmful tobacco use to stand idly by as we now lose Californians to vaping and nicotine addiction,” state Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra said at a news conference in Los Angeles. “Juul adopted the tobacco industry’s infamous playbook, employing advertisements that had no regard for public health and searching out vulnerable targets.” (McGreevy, 11/18)

"Juul adopted the tobacco industry’s infamous playbook, employing advertisements that had no regard for public health and searching out vulnerable targets,” Becerra said in a statement. “We will hold JUUL and any other company that fuels a public health crisis accountable.” North Carolina was the first state to sue Juul earlier this year, and the company is also facing numerous state and federal investigations about the role it played in what public health officials have called an “epidemic” of youth vaping. (Weixel, 11/18)

Missouri Gov. Mike Parson on Monday announced the launch of the state’s new youth vaping education campaign to bring attention to the dangers of e-cigarettes and vaping products. Parson signed an executive order in November giving the departments of Health and Senior Services, Elementary and Secondary Education, and Public Safety one month to get the program running without any additional funding. (Driscoll, 11/19)