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casaa cta flavor ban

COLORADO – [Concluded] Stop a Flavor Ban!

current status

Bill
Introduced

Passed
House

Passed
Senate

Signed by
Governor

05/10/22 – Defeated 2-5 in S. Appropriations Cmte.

05/09/22 – Scheduled for Hearing in Senate Finance, Monday, May 9, 2022, Time: Upon Adjournment of the Senate (Agenda) – Passed, 4y, 1n.

05/04/22 – House Third Reading Passed with Amendments – Floor

04/05/22 – Hearing held (04/04), committee voted to pass heavily ammended bill (7-4).

04/04/22 – Hearing, House Finance Committee, 1:30 PM

03/16/22 – Public hearing held. Bill passed with amendments including restricting sales of vapor products to adult-only establishments.

03/16/22 – House Health & Insurance Committee, 1:30 PM, Old State Library (Rm. 271).

03/09/22 – [Canceled] House Health & Insurance Hearing (1:30PM 3/9/2022 Room 0112)

01/14/22 – Introduced In House – Assigned to Health & Insurance

HB 22-1064 (or just HB 1064 for short) proposed to ban the sale of flavored nicotine and tobacco products in Colorado. Fortunately, cooler heads have prevailed, and this bill was defeated by a 2-5 vote in the S. Appropriations committee.


Thank You! to everyone who sent messages, testimony, and made phone calls to stop this dangerous bill.

  • Urge lawmakers to oppose HB 22-1064 which would restrict your ability to use low-risk alternatives to smoking and send people back to smoking or to buy their vapor products from informal sources.
  • Briefly, share your story about switching to vaping and what role that flavors play in helping you live smoke free.
  • Note any health changes you’ve experienced.
  • Briefly, discuss what losing access to a local supply of vapor products will mean for you (Will you shop out-of-state, in neighboring cities, or online? Will you make your own e-liquid at home or purchase products on an underground market?).
  • Be brief, Be kind, and Say Thank You 🙂

For those new to vaping or just generally unfamiliar with federal regulations, the premarket tobacco application (or PMTA) deadline was September 9, 2020. This application is required to keep or bring new tobacco/nicotine products on the market. It is estimated that 95% to 98% of vapor manufacturers will not be able to afford this process and will not be capable of filing on time.

But 98% is not 100% (as the antis are fond of saying). Indeed, while several manufacturers have been granted stays from FDA enforcement by federal courts and more than 50,000 products remain on the market pending review, visibility and awareness of vapor products is being crushed by bills like HB 1064–even with an exemption for 21+ retailers.

The FDA has already approved some new tobacco products that are being sold in flavors other than tobacco (specifically mint, menthol, and wintergreen). In the weeks prior to the September deadline, the FDA accepted for review several applications for bottled e-liquid in flavors ranging from tobacco to cereal to fruit. Despite the rhetoric from certain members of congress and the incessant pro-drug war drum beat of tobacco prohibitionists, FDA is still capable of authorizing flavored smoke-free nicotine products for market. Moreover, FDA may even allow manufactures of these products to market them as safer than cigarettes, if they apply for and receive a modified risk order.

Colorado’s flavor ban would undermine any decision by FDA to allow low-risk flavored tobacco products on the market after having met the “appropriate for the protection of public health” standard. Even without involving the FDA, flavor bans are being enacted without thorough consideration of the negative consequences. Sales data from Massachusetts and New York suggest that many people who were vaping prior to the flavor bans simply returned to smoking.

While a flavor ban may amount to an inconvenience for teens experimenting with substance use, it is actively harming parents and other adults who are trying to quit smoking.

Full Bill Text

Current as of 05.04.22

HB 1064 - Bill Page

Check bill status detail and amendments here

Even though HB 1064 has been defeated, there is a plethora of misinformation that gets tossed around as bills like this move through legislatures. It is ALWAYS an appropriate time to share your experience and concerns with lawmakers, so we are leaving talking points and the legislator look up active in case your officials need remedial tobacco harm reduction education. 🙂

LEGISLATOR LOOKUP