Walmart stops selling e-cigarettes as vaping death count grows

America's largest retailer will stop selling electronic cigarettes. Walmart announced the news today in response to a growing number of unexplained deaths involving vape devices throughout the US.

Juuls and other electronic cigarettes are growing in popularity as a safer alternative to smoking.

While it's not clear yet what is causing the vaping-related illnesses and deaths, there is growing speculation that black-market marijuana vaping cartridges are to blame.

Not Juul.

Walmart's ban on nicotine e-cigs won't change the health risks associated with consuming recycled or illegal weed cartridges, but ending the federal ban on cannabis and making it easier for people to access safe products legally might help.

Also -- Walmart will keep selling the old-fashioned burning tobacco cigarettes!

That's right!

The stuff proven by decades of science to definitely absolutely make you sick and kill you.

So, thanks!

Thanks, Walmart.

Here's the Walmart statement in full:

"Given the growing federal, state and local regulatory complexity and uncertainty regarding e-cigarettes, we plan to discontinue the sale of electronic nicotine delivery products at all Walmart and Sam's Club U.S. locations," the company said in a statement. "We will complete our exit after selling through current inventory."

[via CNN, images: Shutterstock]

Truly insane: Walmart stops selling e-cigs because of a tenuous connection to deaths from illicit THC oil, but Walmart still sells actual cigarettes, you know the things that definitively kill. https://t.co/b6UOR6YH5g

- Andrew Kirell (@AndrewKirell) September 20, 2019