All Vapes Are Flavored Vapes, Some Just Have Cigarette Flavors

A plea for more accurate descriptions of non-combustible nicotine products.

Why do we only call some vaping products "flavored"? I ask because every vaping product on the market is flavored. Those that taste like tobacco have flavor added just like those that taste like menthol or vanilla or berries. So some vaping products taste like combustible tobacco products (with either tobacco or menthol flavor) and some do not. It is possible to make unflavored vaping products, but there is no market for such products so no one does.

In order to be more accurate--and better communicate the underlying reality--I would suggest a revised nomenclature: We should refer to vaping products as either cigarette-flavored (i.e. tobacco and menthol) and non-cigarette flavored. This would be more accurate and, insofar as there are any health concerns about flavor additives, make clear that there are no unflavored products (and also that the FDA "deemed" vaping products to be tobacco products; they do not actually contain tobacco).

This change in nomenclature would also help clarify the nature of the FDA"s policy choice to only consider approving vaping products that taste like cigarettes. It might also raise further questions about the wisdom of the FDA's approach. After all, the FDA is denying smokers the ability to transition away from smoking by using products that would sever the connection between nicotine and the taste of cigarettes. The FDA is also ensuring that insofar as youth or other experiment with vaping, they are using products that taste like cigarettes.

This change in nomenclature might also help some people understand why there is a growing body of evidence that non-cigarette-flavored vaping products can help smokers quit (by helping them associate nicotine with a different flavor, and may pose less of a "gateway" risk for smoking, particularly for youth. Restricting non-cigarette vaping flavors appears to increase smoking, particularly among youth.

Perhaps clarifying the language will help clarify the policy choices the FDA and others are making.