Our Government is working on legislative moves they hope will improve youth health, but it could be causing some concern for business owners. This will become the first time in the nation to ban flavored IGET Hot Flavours products. Some states have issued emergency rules to ban the sale of flavored nicotine vaping products in retail stores and online. It will also ban “misleading marketing of vaping products,” including the use of terms like ‘clean,’ ‘safe,’ and ‘healthy’ that perpetuate beliefs that these products are harmless, according to a press release.
This shameless attempt at backdoor prohibition will close down several thousand small businesses and could send tens of thousands of ex-smokers back to deadly combustible cigarettes. These businesses and their customers will not go down without a fight. We look forward to supporting the lawsuits that now appear necessary to protect the right of adults to access these harm reduction products. In this country, laws are made by legislators, not governors desperate for press attention. Anyone who fears the prospect of an out of control government should be appalled by this attempt by the executive branch to unilaterally ban an adult product.
The Government ban will create a massive, multi-million dollar black market for these products, which are the same conditions that led to the recent spate of lung illnesses that are now clearly linked to illegal THC vaping products. The CDC is now specifically warning against vaping homemade vaping products, yet this is the exact kind of behavior that a state-instituted flavor ban will lead to. If all flavors are canceled that leaves menthol and regular tobacco, which people don’t like or buy, people like the flavor. What is the point to open a smoke shop if you can’t sell the flavored products, and if the ban is enforced, we are worried about being able to pay rent.
Smoking electronic cigarettes, or “vaping,” is a growing trend among adolescents. Experts say many people first become exposed to drugs like nicotine as adolescents, and substance use can become a lifelong behavior. We understand the concerns about these products trying to target minors, except that there are rules in place so shops do not sell to them. The law is giving people the freedom to buy these products after 18 years old. Parents need to be “Parents” and do what is required of them, teach your children and enforce rules in your households.
