How One FDA Regulation Could Impact President Trump’s Re-election Chances

In his first three years in office, more than eight regulations were repealed for every new rule implemented. The result was nothing short of spectacular, with an unprecedented economic boom and employment figures virtually unparalleled in modern U.S. history.  The benefits have disproportionately accrued to lower-and-middle income earners, as well as minority populations who experienced the strongest wage growth in decades. Despite large sections of the economy shuttering due to the Covid-19 pandemic of 2020, continued deregulation paved the way for the surge in new jobs in July and August.

Given this extraordinary track-record, it beggars belief that President Trump would support a new regulation that would shutter 14,000 small businesses in the U.S., cost more than 100,000 jobs, and have sweeping negative impacts on public health. Yet these consequences are the inevitable outcome of a new directive by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) slated to come into force on September 9.

In order to fully comprehend the tragedy that is unfurling, it is first necessary to understand how the FDA has chosen to regulate reduced risk tobacco alternatives designed to help smokers quit. The most common of these harm reduction products are e-cigarettes, which have played a key role in smoking cessation.