Ticker: Vaping heads to the Supreme Court; Mortgage rates dip 

Vaping is coming before the Supreme Court next week as federal regulators ask the high court to uphold its block on sweet, flavored products following a spike in youth e-cigarette use.

The Food and Drug Administration has denied more than a million marketing applications for candy- or fruit-flavored products that appeal to kids, part of a wider crackdown that advocates say helped drive down teen vaping after an “epidemic level” surge in 2019.

Vaping companies, though, said the agency unfairly disregarded arguments that their sweet e-liquid products would help adults quit smoking traditional cigarettes without putting kids at greater risk.

Republican Donald Trump’s administration could take a different approach after he vowed in a September social-media post to “save” vaping.

The Supreme Court on Monday is hearing arguments in the FDA’s appeal of a decision from the conservative 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. While other courts upheld FDA refusals, the appeals court sided with the Dallas-based company Triton Distribution.

Mortgage rates dip

The average rate on a 30-year mortgage in the U.S. eased this week, though it remains near 7% after mostly rising in recent weeks.

The rate slipped to 6.81% from 6.84% last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Wednesday.

That’s still down from a year ago, when the rate averaged 7.22%.

Borrowing costs on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages, popular with homeowners seeking to refinance their home loan to a lower rate, rose this week. The average rate climbed to 6.1% from 6.02% last week. A year ago, it averaged 6.56%, Freddie Mac said.