Since 2009, lobbying at the state and local level for cigarette-style restrictions on vaping is responsible for unscientific rule changes that conflate the harms of smoking with the hypothetical risks of non-combustible alternatives. CASAA opposes such measures as they are a form of misinformation and unnecessarily restricting access to safer nicotine products. (Remember, access is not limited to just the ability to purchase certain products; it includes being able to use and enjoy them.)

It is understandable that a majority of people who vape are respectful of existing anti-smoking regulations and automatically apply them to vaping in public spaces. Indeed, CASAA’s advice to vapers is to ask about a business’s policy before using a device indoors and to keep it discreet if management allows vaping. But large-scale government intervention in this matter is unwarranted.

Vaping bans do not prevent young people from experimenting with smoke-free products nor do they protect bystanders from the hypothetical risks of second-hand vapor. Place bans against vapor and other smoke-free nicotine products discourage people who smoke from switching and send the inaccurate message that smoking and vaping pose similar risks to health.

The misleading conflation of smoke-free products with harms from the combustible products they aim to replace is contributing to a broad misperception of risk associated with everything from nicotine vapor products to FDA approved nicotine replacement therapies. This is a huge concern that is noted by regulators, scientists, and advocates from across the spectrum of tobacco policy. Opposing overregulation of vapor products and other smoke-free alternatives is vital to realigning public perception of risk with reality and empowering people to make informed decisions about the products they consume.