Topline: Reports that President Trump was backtracking on a vaping products ban surfaced Monday, and several mentioned an October poll that that multiple reports suggested helped sway the president away from actually going through with one.
- The poll of 4,700 adult vape users was conducted by Trump campaign pollster McLaughlin & Associates for the Vapor Technology Association (VTA), an industry trade group.
- 65% of the overall respondents said they would be less likely to approve of Trump if he enacted a flavor ban, with the same percentage of Republicans in agreement.
- 46% of the respondents said they preferred the Republican candidate for 2020, but 30% said they were undecided—meaning those votes are up for grabs.
- The poll also suggests that supporting a blanket ban on flavored vaping products is a “political liability,” with 92% saying they were “much less likely” to vote for a candidate who holds that position.
- And 83% said they would be likely to cast their vote based on a candidate’s position on vaping, making them single-issue voters.
- The New York Times reported that the VTA poll was read by senior members of Trump’s circle, including campaign manager Brad Parscale—who reportedly already warned Trump that a flavor ban would hurt him with his base.
Crucial quote: “The survey results illustrate vapor consumers are likely to become single-issue voters based on a candidate’s position on vapor products, particularly coming out to vote against candidates who support a flavor ban,” reads the poll’s introduction.
Key background: Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia and Wisconsin were the battleground states surveyed for the VTA poll. Trump said in September his administration was looking into a ban on non-tobacco-flavored vaping products and has since said he would consider other measures, including raising the age limit for purchasing. The announcement came amid mounting cases of lung injuries that have now affected more than 2,100 people and caused 42 deaths, as well as fears among lawmakers and parents over the rising popularity of flavored vaping products among teenagers.
Tangent: Also putting pressure on Trump: a joint letter signed by 26 conservative groups, and headed up by Republican political activist Grover Norquist, that said that a flavor ban would hurt small businesses, reconvert adult vapers back into cigarette smokers and force people to turn to the black market.
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