Michael R. Strain, Columnist

Vaping Is a Problem. Banning It Would Be, Too.

There are wiser ways to attack the e-cig problem than measures that would drive users back to smoking.

September 23, 2019 at 1:42 PM UTC

Michael R. Strain is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist. He is director of economic policy studies and Arthur F. Burns Scholar in Political Economy at the American Enterprise Institute. He is the author of “The American Dream Is Not Dead: (But Populism Could Kill It).”

Breathe.
Photographer: Gabby Jones/Bloomberg

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Walmart is ready to stop selling e-cigarettes. The administration of President Donald Trump is moving to ban flavored e-cigarettes and nicotine pods. Opponents of vaping cheer these developments. Supporters are dumbstruck. “Idiocy of the highest order, responding to a fake crisis manufactured by the media,” is how a Washington Examiner op-ed put it.

Both sides are adding more heat than light.