A top doctor has heaped scorn on a new policy from President Donald Trump that, he says, proves the MAHA movement is “BS.”
Dr. Jonathan Reiner, a cardiologist and CNN’s chief medical analyst, blasted off on X on Sunday evening, reacting to news that the FDA will focus enforcement on the most dangerous illegal vapes and nicotine pouches while temporarily easing pressure on some unauthorized products.
There are fears that this will allow illicit products to stay on the market, hence Reiner’s outburst. “When you allow the tobacco and vape industries to market products with flavors intended to addict kids, I know the idea of making America healthy again is just meaningless political marketing,” Reiner, who served as Vice President Dick Cheney’s cardiologist during the George W. Bush administration, raged.
Cheney had a remarkably long, well-documented history of cardiovascular disease, suffering five heart attacks over 35 years, starting at age 37 in 1978. He died in November last year due to complications of pneumonia and cardiac and vascular disease.
Reiner added, “Nicotine is a highly addictive drug and flavoring it to appeal to kids will do just that. It will addict kids. Spare us the MAHA BS.”
Reiner’s argument suggested that the FDA guidance creates more room for flavored vape and nicotine pouch products to stay on the market even if they have not yet received full FDA authorization. The guidance says that the FDA will continue to take action against vapes with “underage-appealing elements.”
Public health advocates have long maintained that flavors like fruit, candy, mint, and dessert varieties are especially attractive to teenagers and help hook young users on nicotine.
Speaking to the New York Times, Mitch Zeller, a former F.D.A. tobacco chief under Democratic and Republican administrations, said that the new guidance is a “gift” to the industry.
“I don’t see how this solves for anything other than a gift to companies that are eligible and allowing illegal products to remain on the market because F.D.A. is going to look the other way,” he said.
Major tobacco firms, including Reynolds American and Altria, have consistently poured money into President Donald Trump’s political orbit, donating to his MAGA Inc. super PAC and initiatives such as the planned White House ballroom project.
The Times reported that the FDA has received 25 million applications for e-cigarette authorization and has green-lit only a few dozen. Vapes can be dangerous because they typically deliver nicotine and may expose users to harmful chemicals, heavy metals, and ultrafine particles that can damage the lungs and heart.
The new move is all the more surprising given that in April 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously upheld the FDA’s authority to deny marketing applications for flavored e-cigarettes, dealing a significant blow to manufacturers.
The policy change was announced just hours after Trump reportedly signed off on a plan to fire Dr. Marty Makary, the Food and Drug Administration commissioner who, for months, had pushed back at plans to allow the sale of flavored vapes.
“Reading between the lines on the guidance, this appears to be definitely something that would benefit the larger companies more than the smaller ones,” said Brian King, a former F.D.A. tobacco chief.
It comes after the Daily Beast exclusively reported that President Donald Trump sided with big tobacco following an intense lobbying push from a former client of his chief of staff, Susie Wiles.
Even as FDA officials reportedly warned that the flavored vape products could appeal to children, the administration pressed ahead with a policy shift benefiting the industry.
