US Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar told CNBC on Friday he was "completely in support" of the Food and Drug Administration's proposed crackdown on e-cigarettes.
"We are not going to permit e-cigarettes to become a pathway to nicotine dependency" or the use of combustible tobacco, Azar said in an interview with CNBC.
He said he disagreed with a belief that banning e-cigarettes would push youth towards traditional cigarettes.
FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said earlier this week that the agency was considering a ban on flavoured e-cigarettes from Juul Labs and other companies, as it grapples with an "epidemic" of youth e-cigarette use that has threatened to create a new generation of nicotine addicts.
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