Illinois congressman calls for federal ban on electronic cigarettes, citing study that shows link to COVID-19

CHICAGO — Citing a study showing a correlation between vaping and COVID-19, an Illinois congressman is calling for a federal ban on all e-cigarettes — though a vaping industry advocate called it a publicity stunt.

Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, a Democrat from Schaumburg and chairman of the House Subcommittee on Economic and Consumer Policy, wrote a letter to the Food and Drug Administration this week calling for the agency to “clear the market of all e-cigarettes, temporarily, for the duration of the coronavirus crisis.”

The letter repeated a request the representative made on April 1 after preliminary studies made similar findings.

But Krishnamoorthi said the case for a ban is stronger following a study that found that young people ages 13-24 who had ever used e-cigarettes were five times more likely to develop COVID-19.