The US exempted menthol and tobacco from a ban on certain vaping flavors, which led to a spike in shares of British American Tobacco and Imperial Brands Plc.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Thursday said e-cigarette makers will be banned from selling pod-based e-cigarette flavors, including fruit, dessert and mint, in the United States from February.
The ban was less stringent than one U.S. President Donald Trump had proposed in September, when he threatened to remove all flavors, including menthol, from all types of e-cigarettes to curb a teenage vaping epidemic.
BAT shares rose as much as 2.5% and were the biggest gainers in the FTSE 100 index. FTSE where many shares were hit by heightened tensions in the Middle East.
