Faced with a troubling outbreak of a mysterious vaping-related illness and the skyrocketing use of electronic cigarettes among teens, President Trump announced in September that the Food and Drug Administration would pull flavored electronic-cigarettes from the market, possibly within weeks.

“People are dying,” the president said during a televised news conference with the heads of the FDA and the Department of Health and Human Services. He promised quick action, and he was right to do so. At that point, six people had died from the new illness, and hundreds more had been hospitalized with severe lung damage. An alarming number of the victims were young adults or teens who said they used vaping devices for both cannabis and nicotine. Since then, 44 people have died and more than 2,000 people have been sickened.

Trump’s plan, reportedly urged by his wife and eldest daughter, was a good one (and a rare smart move on public health policy from an administration better known for dismantling environmental protections). Never mind that it wasn’t a perfect answer to the current crisis. (…)

We should have known better.

According to the Washington Post, the FDA was set to announce on Nov. 5 that it would order flavored electronic cigarettes to be banned for sale within 30 days. But the day before the announcement, reports said, Trump decided not to sign the “decision memo” out of concern that it might lead to job losses that could be used against him during his reelection campaign.

(…)

It’s not too late for Trump to come to his senses and sign the order that would direct the FDA to ban electronic cigarette flavors immediately — before he could change his mind again. But we won’t hold our breath.

— The Los Angeles Times