Rhode Island Shop Owners Sue Over Flavor Ban
Rhode Island State House in Providence, Rhode Island. (Credit Design Pics)
Two Rhode Island businesses are challenging the impending statewide ban preventing them from selling flavored vaping products.
Vaporetti LLC, an East Providence vape shop, and Sunshine Vape LLC, which runs three stores in Providence, Warwick and South Kingstown, filed a lawsuit against the Rhode Island Department of Revenue, Division of Taxation and Department of Health last month in an attempt to block the statewide ban.
The business owners are asking the court to stop the “unconstitutional” and “unlawful” ban from taking effect on Jan. 1, 2025, media reports. Gov. Dan McKee signed the statewide ban, which was included in his $14 million budget proposal for the next fiscal year, into law over the summer.
In the lawsuit, the business owners warned that the ban would severely impact their bottom lines and force their inevitable closures. “Each [business] derives more than 70% of its annual sales revenue from flavored ENDS products,” the lawsuit explained. “The sale of flavored ENDS products is an integral part of [their businesses], and the viability of their businesses is directly related to their ability to sell these products.”
If enforced, the ban “will prove fatal to these businesses because they cannot survive the loss of nearly three quarters of their revenue.” In the lawsuit, the business owners also stressed that the ban may do more harm than good.