US to ban flavored vaping products as lung disease cases surge

The White House has promised to ban flavoured e-cigarette products, after symptoms of lung disease were reported in hundreds of people who had recently used them.

Vape kits are displayed for sale in a vape shop on September 06, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. Source: Getty Images North America

US President Donald Trump's administration announced Wednesday it would soon ban flavored e-cigarette products to stem a rising tide of youth users, following a spike in vaping-linked deaths.

The move could later be extended to an outright prohibition of vaping if adolescents migrate to tobacco flavors, seen as more legitimate products that help smokers quit their habit.

E-cigarettes containing nicotine are banned in Australia, but many people import them from overseas.

According to the Australian National Drug Strategy Household Survey, 6.4 per cent of smokers aged 18-24 use e-cigarettes, although this number is potentially much higher.

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