Walmart says it will stop selling e-cigarettes

Walmart will stop selling e-cigarettes because of “regulatory complexity and uncertainty” surrounding the products. CNBC reported on an internal company memo about the change, and Walmart confirmed the news in a statement . 

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,” says the statement. “We will complete our exit after selling through current inventory.”

Walmart’s decision comes soon after US health officials announced the eighth death due to a mysterious vaping-related lung illness. The first death was reported in August. Since then, several media companies have pulled vaping ads, and policymakers have begun to tighten restrictions in the US and elsewhere. Yesterday, Sens. Mitt Romney (R-UT) and Jeff Merkley (D-OR) introduced a bill to ban e-cigarette flavors other than tobacco and apply new taxes to the products