California voters approve flavored vaping ban

 California's Vaping Flavor Ban Could Be Lethal | Reason - Jacob sullum:

November 16, 2022 - "The campaign for Proposition 31, a ballot initiative that Californians approved by a wide margin last week, urged voters to 'protect kids from candy-flavored tobacco.' That slogan packed an impressive amount of dishonesty into five words. 

"The initiative's main target was nicotine vaping products, which do not contain tobacco and were already legally restricted to adults. Proposition 31 decrees that adults may not buy such products in flavors other than tobacco, thereby undermining the most promising harm-reducing alternative to cigarettes.

"Proposition 31 was a referendum on S.B. 793, a 2020 law that restricts 'characterizing flavors' in 'tobacco products.' California counterintuitively defines 'tobacco product' to include 'an electronic device that delivers nicotine,' whether or not the nicotine is derived from tobacco. Under S.B. 793, 'the taste or aroma of tobacco' is the only 'characterizing flavor' that can legally be added to vaping products. That rule ... will ... discourage smokers from switching to a far less hazardous source of nicotine....

"The bill's author, state Sen. Jerry Hill (D‒San Mateo), declared that the industry 'wants to keep killing people with its candy-, fruit-, mint- and menthol-flavored poison.' Contrary to those warnings, there is no evidence that nicotine vaping products are 'killing' anyone. In fact, they are much less dangerous than cigarettes.... According to a 2018 report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, 'Laboratory tests of e-cigarette ingredients ... suggest that e-cigarettes are likely to be far less harmful than combustible tobacco cigarettes.' The British Royal College of Physicians likewise says 'vaping isn't completely risk-free but is far less harmful than smoking tobacco.' 

"The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) acknowledges vaping's potential to reduce smoking-related deaths. 'E-cigarettes, as a general class, have markedly less risk than a combustible cigarette product,' says Brian King, director of the FDA's Center for Tobacco Products. The FDA nevertheless seems determined to ban nicotine vapes in flavors other than tobacco, the same policy that California has adopted....

"According to survey data, three-quarters of adult vapers prefer the flavors that California has banned. A 2022 study asked 851 vapers how they would respond if the government banned the flavors they prefer. While 29 percent said they would switch to whatever flavors were still allowed, 28 percent said they 'would find a way' to obtain forbidden flavors, which suggests that California-style bans could drive consumers toward potentially dangerous black-market options; 17 percent said they would 'stop vaping and smoke instead,' which would expose them to a potentially deadlier risk; and 13 percent said they were not sure.... 

"Last year in the American Journal of Public Health, 15 prominent tobacco researchers warned that ... 'While flavor bans could reduce youth interest in e-cigarettes, ... 'they could also reduce adult smokers' vaping to quit smoking.' Supporters of California's ban were so focused on portraying themselves as righteous protectors of children that they did not even acknowledge this danger. The consequences may prove lethal."

Read more: https://reason.com/2022/11/16/californias-vaping-flavor-ban-could-be-lethal/

"Why California Wants to Ban Vaping," The Truth about Vaping, Apr. 13, 2015:

Buy flavored e-liquid, lose your car, MA bill says

Pending Ban on Flavored E-Cigarettes in Massachusetts Authorizes Forfeiture of Vapers’ Cars – Reason.com:

Novewmber 14, 2019 - "The Massachusetts House of Representatives yesterday approved a bill that would ban flavored e-cigarettes, impose a 75 percent excise tax on 'electronic nicotine delivery systems' (including e-liquids as well as devices), and authorize forfeiture of cars driven by vapers caught with 'untaxed' products. The House approved H4183 by a vote of 127 to 31, and the state Senate is expected to consider it next week.

"An 'emergency' ban that Gov. Charlie Baker (R) imposed on all vaping products in September will expire on December 24. This bill permanently bans 'flavored tobacco products,' including menthol cigarettes as well as vaping liquids that taste or smell like anything other than tobacco. It does not apply to hookah bars or marijuana vapes....

"Once their preferred flavors are no longer legally available, some ... vapers may go back to smoking, a far more dangerous habit, while others may buy potentially tainted pods or e-liquids on the black market. Or they might buy flavored e-liquids in states where they are still legal and bring them back to Massachusetts. But vapers who try to find ways around the ban should be aware of the potential penalties.,,,

"The bill says ... a police officer who 'discovers an untaxed electronic nicotine delivery system in the possession of a person who is not a licensed or commissioner-authorized electronic nicotine delivery system distributor' may seize both the product and the 'receptacle' in which it is found, 'including, but not limited to, a motor vehicle, boat or airplane in which the electronic nicotine delivery systems are contained or transported'....

"While both fines and asset forfeiture could be deployed against distributors of newly illicit vaping products, they apply to consumers as well.... [A] vaper is presumed to be in possession of 'an untaxed electronic nicotine delivery system,' which makes his car subject to forfeiture, unless he has receipts that prove otherwise. And in the case of newly illegal vaping products purchased out of state or on the black market, he will have no such proof.

"Under this bill, unapproved vaping products would be treated like illegal drugs, possession of which is enough to justify forfeiture of the vehicles in which they are found. Massachusetts is poised to deprive vapers of the harm-reducing products they used to quit smoking, then steal their cars if they dare to defy that unjust and irrational edict."

Read more: https://reason.com/2019/11/14/pending-ban-on-flavored-e-cigarettes-in-massachusetts-authorizes-forfeiture-of-vapers-cars/
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Bans are the wrong answer to vaping crisis

Legalizing Cannabis Is The Answer To Vaping Concerns - Kris Krane, Forbes:

October 7, 2019 - "Over the past few months the media has been awash with reports of people getting sick from vaping.... In response, politicians have been taking action to get ahead of the problem, with most relying on some form of vape ban. A handful of governors and President Trump have proposed banning all flavored vape cartridges, while Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker declared a public health emergency and banned the sale of all vape products in the state for four months.

'While these actions may be well meaning, they are likely to only exacerbate the problem.... To date, 805 cases of people suffering from vape-related illnesses and at least 12 deaths have been reported.... Despite the relatively small number of vape-related illnesses and deaths, the nation seems to be amid a media-fueled hysteria around the issue of vaping.....

"But the reaction to ban all vape sales, as they have in Massachusetts, may have hugely negative public health consequences. After all, people who use nicotine vapes are generally addicted to nicotine.... Without access to legal and regulated vape cartridges they will face two options: obtain illicit-market nicotine vape cartridges produced in an unregulated facility ... or go back to smoking cigarettes.....

"On the cannabis side of the equation, banning legally produced cannabis vape cartridges could be the most counterproductive response possible. Of the vaping-related illnesses, the vast majority appear to be related to counterfeit illicit market products that contain pesticides, additives and cutting agents dangerous to human health. By eliminating access to licensed and regulated products, states like Massachusetts may be inadvertently driving these customers and patients to the illicit market that’s causing these problems in the first place.

"In response to the wave of vape-related illnesses, NBC News took cartridges ... to CannaSafe, an accredited testing lab..... All the illicit-market products contained dangerous substances like pesticides and hydrogen cyanide.... None of these contaminants were found in the legally produced products that CannaSafe tested....

"Another problem arises from the fact that producers of illicit-market vape cartridges often cut their cannabis oil with thinning agents to decrease potency and increase profit margins. Then, to increase viscosity back to the level consumers expect to see, they add thickening agents, the most popular of which is Vitamin E acetate....

"The most effective way to combat these illicit-market products is for every state and the federal government to legalize cannabis so that vape production can be regulated under a uniform set of rules. With cannabis legal nationwide, there would be little reason for producers to bootleg legal products to ship out of state, since these products would be available to any cannabis consumer anywhere in the country.... Regulators could and should ... ensure that all products are being tested not only for pesticides, but thickening agents like Vitamin E acetate....

"Prohibition only drives consumers to the illicit market where more dangerous products are rampant, and results in negative public health impacts. As the country continues to wrestle with how to handle vape-related illnesses, we would be wise to heed the lessons of the past and recognize that the most effective remedy is legalization, regulation, and education."

Read more: https://www.forbes.com/sites/kriskrane/2019/10/07/legalizing-cannabis-is-the-answer-to-vaping-concerns/#7564a8a69488
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Vapers urged to oppose FDA flavor crackdown

Vaping Industry Rallies To Oppose Looming Flavor Crackdown From The FDA - The Libertarian Republic - Steve Birr:

June 28, 2018 - "The vaping industry is rallying former smokers who quit using an electronic cigarette to share their stories with federal regulators, who are mulling restrictions on flavored products. The advocacy campaign, dubbed #Fight4Flavor, comes in response to a proposed rule from the Food and Drug Administration to regulate tobacco and nicotine flavoring....

"The Global Vaping Standards Association (GVSA) is leading the campaign, which encourages any users of alternative technologies and smokeless products to submit comments to the FDA on how flavors helped them make the switch from combustible cigarettes, which continue to be the number one cause of preventable death worldwide.

"The FDA is currently seeking comments on the implications of flavored products, particularly whether they are having a negative impact on youths....

"Public health experts focused on harm reduction note flavor restrictions will likely serve to marginalize former smokers relying on a vape to satiate their nicotine cravings, potentially pushing them back to deadly combustible cigarettes. They argue flavors are key to helping smokers disassociate with the taste of tobacco.

"The GVSA coalition includes companies AVAIL Vapor, Charlie’s Chalk Dust, Mama’s, SMOK, The Drip Club, Vaporesso, Midwest Distribution, My Vapor Store and Vapor Authority.

"'The industry leaders of this coalition are all committed to advocating for vapers’ rights and their right to choose flavored e-liquids while also following strict regulations to keep vape products out of the hands of minors,' Maggie Gowen, executive director of GVSA, said in a statement.... 'Today over 400,000 people have made a comment, and through our combined resources, we have the ability to reach over two million additional vapers. For adult consumers, flavoring is what helped them transition from smoking to vaping. For the manufacturers and retailers, it’s their livelihood. We have to champion an endeavor that protects all of these groups in an effort towards harm reduction'....

"Comments for the proposed FDA rule must be submitted by July 19.

"Researchers from the Yale School of Public Health and the Centre for Health Policy at the Imperial College in London published a study in September 2017 investigating the impact flavor restrictions may have on e-cigarette use. The scientists found that a ban on e-cigarette flavors in the U.S. would reduce the use of vaping devices by more than 10 percent, suggesting users would default back to more harmful cigarettes."

Read more: https://thelibertarianrepublic.com/vaping-industry-rallies-to-oppose-looming-flavor-crackdown-from-the-fda/
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As smoking drops, FDA declares war on vaping

Today's Teens Say No to Drugs and Tobacco, Yes to Vaping | Generation Opportunity - Brittany Hunter:

December 12, 2016 - "According to a recent report released by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ... annual Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS) fewer teens are having sex and using drugs or alcohol..... Even more shocking is the declining number of teenagers who say they smoke cigarettes.... [I]n 1991, 27.5 percent of the teens surveyed said they considered themselves smokers. In the latest report, only 10.8 percent of teenagers polled said they would label themselves as smokers.

"Though there are potentially several reasons for this decline, another finding in the report suggests that one of the biggest factor’s involved is the rise of e-cigarettes. Though this is the first YRBSS report that includes any data on teens and their use of vaping devices, 44.9 percent of the teenagers surveyed said they have used a vaping device....

"Recently, the FDA has passed new regulations which classify e-liquid, the substance used in vape devices, as a tobacco product. These new regulations require that each vaping device be put through a “Pre-Market Tobacco Applications” (PMTA) process before it can be sold on the market.... For each separate device needing approval, it will take the FDA upwards of 1,700 hours and cost the manufacturer millions of dollars.

"Continuing its war on the vaping industry, the Department of Health and Human Services just launched a campaign to persuade teens and young adults to 'just say no' to vaping. The campaign’s website claims that since nicotine is found in tobacco products, vaping still comes with the same risks as tobacco.... Even though there have been many studies which have shown e-cigarettes to be a healthier option than cigarette use, especially considering that e-liquid contains absolutely no tobacco, the federal government insists this is not the case and has even prohibited vaping devices from listing the health benefits of vaping on their product’s packaging.....

"According to the extensive research done by Britain’s Royal College of Physicians, using vaping devices instead of traditional cigarettes will, 'prevent almost all of the harm from smoking'.... Britain’s Royal College of Physicians was one of the first organizations to find the link between lung cancer and smoking cigarettes, a finding that the United States government denied until two years after....

"Though many opponents of the vaping industry have insisted that e-cigarettes will serve as a 'gateway to smoking,' as the latest YRBBS report has shown, teen smoking is down dramatically while at the same time, the use of vaping is up. If anything, the rise of vaping is actually doing more to deter teens from smoking.

"The same is true for the adult population. From 2005 to 2014, the adult smoking rate decreased from 20.9 percent to 16.9 percent, which also happens to coincides with the rise of vape use. This dramatic shift from cigarettes use to vaping should be celebrated, especially since fewer and fewer teens are finding themselves addicted to cigarettes."

Read more: http://blog.generationopportunity.org/articles/2016/12/12/todays-teens-say-no-to-drugs-and-tobacco-yes-to-vaping/
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