Vaping flavor ban bills pop up in Maryland, Connecticut, New Mexico, Oregon and Hawai’i. New York’s governor wants to ban more flavors–but not if they’re marijuana. Study finds lying about vaping deters vaping. Tobacco company asks FDA to go after disposables. News outlets again fail to critically look at vape studies and more!
Scroll to the bottom of this post for a link to the audio/video versions of this post!
CALL TO ACTION // Maryland Flavor Ban
SB 259 requires low risk, smoke-free alternatives–products used by millions of adults to quit/avoid smoking–to be flavored like tobacco, prohibiting even FDA-authorized flavors.
HEARING: Thursday, February 16, 2023 at 1 PM!
TAKE ACTION: Stop the Maryland Flavor Ban
CALL TO ACTION // Hawai’i Vape Tax
HB 537 would subject vapor products to the state’s 70% tobacco tax.
Hawai’ians are encouraged to TAKE ACTION NOW!
TAKE ACTION: Stop the Hawai’i Vape Tax
CALL TO ACTION UPDATE // Hawai’i Flavor Ban
HB 551 will dangerously take away all non-tobacco flavors (including 0 mg vapes) from legal adults–many who use flavored low risk products to avoid relapsing to smoking!
TAKE ACTION: Stop the Hawai’i Flavor Ban
CALL TO ACTION // Connecticut Flavor Ban
HB 6488 would force adults who have switched to pleasant-tasting, low risk alternatives to smoking to go back to products that taste like tobacco or menthol. This bill already had one hearing on February 1st, 2023.
TAKE ACTION: Stop the Connecticut Flavor Ban
CALL TO ACTION // New Mexico Flavor Ban
HB 94 had a hearing in the House Commerce and Economic Development Committee. If you live in New Mexico, please click the link below and TAKE ACTION NOW!
TAKE ACTION: Stop the New Mexico Flavor Ban
CALL TO ACTION // Oregon Flavor Ban
HB 3090 would ban the sale of nicotine and tobacco products in flavors other than fake “tobacco.” This prohibition would include everything from smoke-free nicotine pouches to vapor products and menthol cigarettes.
TAKE ACTION: Stop the Oregon Flavor Ban
HEADS UP! // Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Misleading rhetoric, baseless health risk claims and outdated teen use data is being used to justify this moratorium–possibly laying the groundwork for a flavor or sales ban!
READ MORE: Milwaukee lawmakers look to ban new vape shops for a limited time
TOBACCO CONTROL // Bait & Switch Tactic
HB 3090 sponsors pretend their flavor ban “will protect kids from the evil genius of hiding the tarry, noxious taste of ignited tobacco,” but their real target is undoubtedly low risk flavored vapor products, which contain no tobacco and are not ignited.
Oregon has long been a leader liberalizing drug laws. That makes it all the more ridiculous that Oregon Democrats want to screw that up by banning flavored nicotine e-cigs, which by any reasonable standard are among the least worrisome drugs in the world. https://t.co/vFy0Vxr83R
— Jacob Grier (@jacobgrier) February 9, 2023
READ MORE: House Democrats Introduce Bill to Ban Flavored Tobacco Products
TOBACCO CONTROL // Intentionally Misleading
Misleading article intentionally uses 2019 data instead of current 2022 data to claim youth vaping rates “continue to rise.” Then falsely claims that the “notion by youth” that vaping is less harmful and safer than smoking “is far from the truth.” Most experts agree that vaping is far less harmful than smoking!
READ MORE: Op-Ed: The Work Never Stops in the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids
TOBACCO CONTROL // False Narrative That All Vapes Are ‘E-cigarettes”
Jason Altmire, a former Congressman and currently an adjunct professor of health care management at the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, wrote for The Hill:
“Like many other unregulated products manufactured in China or Mexico,
these flavored disposable e-cigarettes on occasion have been laced with
dangerous drugs such as fentanyl.” ~
Except vapor products containing substances such as THC or fentanyl are NOT called “e-cigarettes” by those who use them. Teens obviously don’t buy those types of vapes because of the flavors, so banning flavored disposable nicotine e-cigarettes would protect no one from “dangerous drugs.” It would just force more products onto the illicit market!
“I agree that we must help adult smokers transition away from cigarettes
to a less risky form of nicotine delivery, and ultimately from nicotine altogether.
However, by excluding disposable products from its definition of
“cartridge-based ENDS products,” the FDA’s flavor restrictions do not apply to
flavored disposable e-cigarette products, which children are using at an
alarming rate and unregulated foreign producers are manufacturing.”
Read that again. Just imagine the backlash had he instead said, “I agree we must help adults transition away from smoking to a less risky form of THC delivery, and ultimately from THC altogether.”
Who decided for adults that they can’t enjoy the benefits of safer nicotine?
Finally, he misleads readers when he states “disposable e-cigarette usage among high school youths has spiked 2,188% since 2019.”
Yes, disposable use AMONG TEENS WHO ALREADY VAPE rose significantly BUT he left out that vaping significantly DROPPED in that same time period!
READ MORE: Biden should close the disposable e-cigarette loophole
FDA // Tobacco Company Asks FDA to Target Disposable Vapes
The maker of Vuse e-cigarettes has filed a formal citizen petition asking the FDA to focus its vaping product enforcement policy on the disposable vapes that now dominate sales in the convenience store/gas station segment of the U.S. vaping market.
“The claim that the FDA’s enforcement policy encouraged Puff Bar and other disposables to proliferate was tobacco control mythology spread by lazy journalists—and is now being spread by the maker of the single most popular vaping device in the country.”
CASAA’s Jim McDonald, writing for Vaping360.
COMMENTARY // New York New Prohibition
New York’s move to legalize cannabis was a long-overdue recognition that prohibition not only doesn’t work but leads to bad consequences…So why would the state turn around and ban a separate group of popular products? ~Chris Churchill
Good question, Mr. Churchill.
READ MORE: Churchill: You’ll smoke what Kathy Hochul says you can smoke
RESEARCH // Study Finds Lying Deters Vaping
Study finds video implying nicotine vaping causes EVALI and a doctor claiming, “There’s absolutely no reason to say vaping is healthier than smoking. In my opinion, vaping is worse,” might deter vaping. Researchers did not mention if they followed up with the subjects to see if they decided to smoke cigarettes instead.
There are several false and a number of debatable claims in the Introduction stated as fact.
Regular vapers = 3 times in 30 days? Really?
Historic use rates stated in present tense?
Fearmongering as a health intervention? How is that ethical?
I didn’t even get to the Methods.
— Phil (@phil_w888) January 20, 2023
READ MORE: Hearing testimonies from e-cigarette users may deter students from vaping: study
RESEARCH // Bad Study Badly Reported
That tiny, poorly designed UPenn study is gaining traction in the news, and reporters fail miserably to look critically at the findings. The big red flag? A highly illogical finding that inflammation from smoking was no worse than never smoking/vaping!
Did you read the whole scientific paper? I guess not. there are several limitations: EC users where former smokers, only 5 EC smokers where examined, Nothing known about used liquid, devices, and settings. Using /rigorous/ quantitative methods. Pilotstudy. https://t.co/d36hfAQtVV
— KPW Leenhouts (@KpwLeenhouts) January 28, 2023
TESTIMONIAL // Anecdote # 13,502
JP made an informed decision to NOT start smoking again to cope with his stress and ADHD. Instead, he chose to manage his well-being with very low risk alternatives.
What’s YOUR real story? Submit your testimonial today!
SUBMIT YOUR STORY: CASAA Testimonial Project
CASAA MEDIA // Spotify
CASAA’s podcast is on Spotify! Please give us a follow here:
CASAA IN ACTION // Twitter Spaces
The week we recap the Reagan-Udall sessions with Amanda Wheeler, Tim Andrews and CASAA CEO Alex Clark, who all presented to the panel about FDA’s issues regulating reduced-harm products. What grade would you give FDA? Also available on CASAA’s Spotify channel (above.)
— CASAA (@CASAAmedia) October 26, 2022
CASAA IN ACTION // CASAA Live
Join us this Saturday, February 10th, when we sit down with Greg Conley of the American Vapor Manufacturers (AVM) to talk about his journey in vaping advocacy–from his beginnings at CASAA to his work now at AVM.
If you missed the most recent CASAA Live show, check out the replay now! CASAA Live is on alternating Saturdays at 4:30 PM ET/3:30 PM CT/2:30 PM MT/1:30 PM PT on Facebook, YouTube and Twitter!
If you missed the last CASAA Live episode you can catch up NOW before the next show!
On this CASAA Explains episode, CASAA CEO Alex Clark and VP Logan Evans reveal the common misconceptions about who & what actually poses the biggest threat to vaping. The answer may surprise you!
TAKE ACTION // CASAA State Facebook Groups
Have you joined your CASAA State Facebook group yet? Check it out now! Click the link below, click on your state on the map, then click the “Join Now” button to go to your state’s group page. It’s as easy as that to stay updated on local happenings, meet local advocates and never miss a Call to Action in your state!
Don’t forget to also follow our official Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/CASAAmedia
FIND YOUR GROUP: CASAA State Locator
CASAA STORE // Apparel and More
Show your support by shopping our store! Our president (and brilliant website/swag designer) Danielle has added some awesome new designs to CASAA’s apparel shop!
VISIT: CASAA Apparel and Swag Store
CASAA MEDIA // Podcast
Catch up on past tobacco harm reduction news with Alex and Logan on the CASAA podcasts on SoundCloud every Monday and now live on YouTube and Facebook every Saturday at 3:30 PM.
SoundCloud:
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