Israel stubs out flavored tobacco, mulling total ban of e-cigarettes

The Health Ministry says it is exploring ways to impose a total ban on sales of e-cigarettes, following other countries that have sought to crack down on what has been described as a vaping epidemic.

The ministry says it is imposing an immediate ban on sales of flavored cartridges of oil used in the smoking devices.

The ministry says it is considering imposing a ban via a temporary injunction without waiting for the Knesset to pass new regulations.

A woman takes a puff from a cannabis vape pen in Los Angeles, December 22, 2018. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)

“I call on the public to not wait for new rules and regulations and simply stop using things that hurt their health,” ministry chief Moshe Bar Siman Tov says.

India banned sales of e-cigarettes this month and regulators in the United States and other countries are imposing controls following a surge in deaths and illnesses blamed on vaping.

On Tuesday morning, China said it would also place new restrictions on e-cigarettes.

Makers of e-cigarettes including Juul Labs Inc. have promoted them as being safer than standard cigarettes, but the US Food and Drug Administration says no vaping product has been reviewed and found to be less harmful than traditional tobacco products.