Category: Flavors

Columbus, Ohio Vows to Sue State Over Flavor Ban

Ohio State House in Columbus (Credit: Mandritoiu)
The City of Columbus is drafting a lawsuit against Ohio for the legislature’s recent decision to ban cities from regulating tobacco sales, continuing a long battle between state and city government officials.
Last week, the Ohio Senate followed the House’s lead and voted to override Gov. Mike DeWine’s veto on a provision prohibiting local governments from enacting regulations on the sale of tobacco, including banning flavored tobacco products, according to media reports.
Starting on April 24, when the law goes into effect, cities with flavored tobacco bans will no longer be able to enforce the legislation. Columbus, Grandview Heights, Worthington and Bexley will be among the cities barred from enforcing their flavored tobacco bans.
Columbus City Attorney Zach Klein is now looking to file a lawsuit in response to the veto override.
“The governor was right to veto legislation undermining local efforts to reduce tobacco use and long-term adverse health effects, especially among young people,” Klein said. “Now that Republican lawmakers have chosen to override the governor’s veto, the City is weighing all options, which certainly includes filing a lawsuit challenging this legislative overreach.”
Klein said his office must defend the Ohio Constitution’s home rule authority, which has existed for more than 110 years. Municipal home rule grants cities the constitutional right to establish laws; as long as a rule or regulation doesn’t interfere with the laws in the Ohio Revised Code, cities have the right to make their own policies.
Republican state lawmakers have tried multiple times to prohibit local governments from restricting the sale of tobacco, only to be thwarted by DeWine’s vetoes.
In 2022, he struck down such a proposal. Last July, he struck the provision from the rest of the state budget, saying that local bans were “essential” to curb nicotine use, especially among children, without a statewide ban in place.
February 4, 2024
UK Flavored Vape Ban Likely to Become Law

Credit: Mapix
Proposals to ban disposable vapes and gradually phase out the sale of tobacco to people of all ages in the UK are likely to become law soon. Only a few Conservative MPs have objected to the plans, so they are expected to pass with little opposition.
Both measures will be voted on in parliament, Downing Street confirmed. While Conservative MPs will be given a non-whipped free vote on the smoking ban, it remains to be decided whether this will also happen for vaping products.
The ban on disposable vapes, along with action to combat the sale of some child-friendly, fruit-flavored varieties and restrictions on packaging and in-shop displays, would come into force late this year or in early 2025 via a mixture of a bill and secondary legislation, according to media reports.
The already announced ban on selling tobacco products to anyone born on or after Jan. 1, 2009 will also be introduced as a law, potentially in the same bill as that connected to vaping.
Although Labour is likely to back both measures, meaning they are guaranteed to pass, Sunak might have expected a significant pushback from libertarian-minded Tory MPs. However, only Liz Truss publicly denounced the plans, calling the date-based tobacco ban “profoundly unconservative” and an extension of the “nanny state.”
February 4, 2024
Quebec Urged to Crack Down on Flavored Vapes

Eric Gagnon, Vice-President of Corporate and Regulatory Affairs at Imperial Tobacco Canada, urges the government to buckle down on enforcing its law during the press conference. (Photo: Imperial Tobacco Canada)
Imperial Tobacco Canada is urging the government of Quebec to crack down on illegal flavored vaping products.
Three months after the law banning flavors in vaping products came into force, flavored e-cigarettes remain available at a large number of retail outlets that either infringe on the law or are using a variety of tactics to circumvent the law, according to Imperial Tobacco Canada, which is part of British American Tobacco.
“We are aware of the growing concern with the proliferation of products that circumvent the regulations, resulting in the creation of an illicit market,” said Imperial Vice-President of Corporate and Regulatory Affairs Eric Gagnon in a statement.
“We recently identified over 200 sales outlets that sell non-compliant vaping products. These stores have not adjusted to the new regulations and continue to offer a wide range of flavored products, including those that exceed the maximum permitted quantity of 2 ml.”
According to Imperial, these stores now also sell flavor enhancers as a way to circumvent the new regulation. “Given that these enhancers are not intended to be vaped, they can pose serious risks to consumers who use them,” the company wrote in a press note. “It is also because of a similar illegal market that a wave of lung diseases spread between 2019 and 2020 in the U.S., claiming 68 lives.”
Imperial says that instead of meeting its objective of tackling vaping among young people, the government has created a thriving illicit market.
During a Jan. 21 appearance on the talk show Tout le monde en parle Health Minister Christian Dubé blamed tobacco companies for the situation.
Imperial Tobacco Canada said it strongly refutes the allegations. “As a responsible company that fully complies with the regulations in place, we denounce these abuses and reiterate our call for stronger enforcement of the law,” said. Gagnon. “We warned the minister’s office several months ago about the inevitable collateral damage that would result from such a regulation being implemented. Unfortunately, nothing was done, and the situation persists as a result.”
February 2, 2024
Colorado Bill Would Allow Counties to Ban Flavors
Credit: Marek Photo Design
A Senate bill in Colorado would grant counties the power to regulate or ban the sale and distribution of flavored vaping, cigarettes and other nicotine products.
Senate Bill 24-022 defines flavored nicotine and tobacco products as anything with a scent or flavor other than tobacco, including products that induce a cooling or numbing sensation.
Citing the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Rep. Kyle Brown, a sponsor of the legislation, said nearly 9 out of 10 adults who smoke every day first tried smoking “before they turned age 18.”
He said tobacco products are linked to negative health effects, including cancer, and that e-cigarettes and other vape products are “highly addictive and can harm adolescent brain development.”
A similar bill was introduced during the 2022 legislative session but died in the Senate. At the time, Gov. Jared Polis said he opposed the bill because he thought the matter should be handled at a local level.
January 15, 2024
Virginia Proposes Flavor Ban, Approved Product List

Credit: FotoMak
Virginia has long been the epicenter of the tobacco industry, Now, two bills that would ban flavored vaping products have been filed with the state’s General Assembly.
Sponsors say Virginia should step in where Washington has been ineffective in blocking unregulated flavored e-cigarettes, such as Elf Bar disposables, off of store shelves.
The bills, House Bill 1069 and Senate Bill 550, call for a fine of $1,000 a day for each product sold that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has not authorized to be marketed in the U.S.
The Attorney General would maintain a directory of legal products, much like Alabama and Louisiana. Products not listed in that directory could not be legally sold in Virginia.
The bill states any retailer and wholesaler that sells or distributes any liquid nicotine or nicotine vapor product in the state is subject to scheduled or unscheduled compliance checks carried out by the Attorney General’s Office for enforcement purposes.
Manufacturers must certify, in a filing with the Attorney General, that their product is covered by an FDA marketing authorization order, or is exempt from that because it was sold in the U.S. before 2016 or subject to a premarket tobacco product application dating from before 2020.
“It’s a public health issue,” said Del. Rodney Willett, who sponsored the House of Delegates bill.
“They’re targeting kids with the flavors,” he said, according to media reports. “When I walk into a convenience store, I’m just stunned by the number of these products that are for sale.”
January 13, 2024
Another Maine City Seeks Ban on Flavored Tobacco

Credit: Ianm35
The city of Hallowell seeks to become the latest community in Maine to ban the sale of flavored vaping and other tobacco products.
Monday night, the city held a public hearing on an ordinance that would do exactly that. During the meeting, 300 signatures supporting the flavored tobacco ban were delivered to the council, according to local media.
During the hearing, people argued both for and against the ban, with those against saying the city should be looking at the bigger picture and consider enacting a smoking ban citywide. Those in favor cited not only the negative health effects, but also that it’s intentionally marketed to young people.
If Hallowell does pass a ban, they will join the towns Falmouth, Portland, South Portland, Brunswick, Bangor and Bar Harbor in passing similar bans on selling flavored tobacco products.
January 10, 2024
SCOTUS Rejects RJ Reynolds Flavor Ban Challenge

The Supreme Court of the United States has rejected R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company’s bid to challenge a voter-approved ban on flavored vaping and other tobacco products in California, the most populous state in the U.S.
The justices rejected an appeal by R.J. Reynolds, a unit of British American Tobacco, and other plaintiffs of a lower court’s ruling holding that California’s law did not conflict with a federal statute regulating tobacco products.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta, a Democrat who defended the law in court, in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, called the Supreme Court’s decision “excellent news.”
“We look forward to continuing to fight to prevent addiction and protect the health of our people,” Bonta said, Reuters reports.
R.J. Reynolds declined to comment.
Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom in 2020 signed into law a ban on all flavored tobacco products – including menthol cigarettes and cotton candy-flavored vaping products – in response to concerns about a rise in e-cigarette and tobacco use by teenagers.
The ban’s implementation was delayed after a tobacco industry coalition gathered enough signatures to put to voters a ballot measure that would block California from becoming the largest state to ban flavored tobacco product sales. But nearly two-thirds of voters casting ballots on the measure known as Proposition 31 approved the sales ban in November 2022.
The law made California the second state to ban all flavored tobacco product sales after Massachusetts in 2019. Several other states have restricted flavored vaping products and several municipalities have adopted their own bans.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2020 banned all flavors except tobacco and menthol in Juul and other cartridge-based e-cigarettes. In 2022, the FDA sought to ban sales of all Juul e-cigarettes, though it later put the order on hold.
Beyond vaping, the FDA in April 2022 proposed banning menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars. Those rules have yet to be finalized and have been the subject of lobbying by tobacco groups.
A day after the California vote, R.J. Reynolds along with a group representing tobacco retailers, the Neighborhood Market Association, and a vape shop, filed a lawsuit arguing the federal Tobacco Control Act, which the FDA enforces, preempts state and local laws that bar flavored tobacco product sales.
But a federal judge ruled those arguments were foreclosed by an earlier decision by the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upholding a similar ban in Los Angeles County.
The 9th Circuit upheld the judge’s ruling on California’s law in June, after the U.S. Supreme Court earlier in 2023 declined to hear an appeal of the Los Angeles ruling.
R.J. Reynolds had previously unsuccessfully asked the U.S. Supreme Court to prevent the California law from taking effect while it pursued its appeals. The justices rejected that request in December 2022.
January 9, 2024
Bill to Ban Flavored Nicotine in Guam Gets Short Pause

Credit: Rarrarorro
A bill aimed at prohibiting the sale of flavored tobacco products on Guam was withdrawn after the public hearing did not move forward.
Due to lawmakers spending a large amount of time discussing Bill 175-37, which proposes changes to Guam’s Toilet Facilities and Sewage Disposal Act, the next scheduled public hearing for Bill 50-37 had been withdrawn by its sponsor, Sen. Thomas Fisher.
Bill 50 sought to prohibit the sale of flavored vaping and other tobacco products on Guam, according to media reports.
Fisher explained he withdrew Bill 50 to make changes after receiving information from the American Cancer Society.
Fisher further intended to refile the bill immediately with the hope of having a public hearing on the bill Jan. 11.
Last year, lawmakers in Guam proposed to impose a 10 percent excise tax on all vape products for the first year, and then raise it to 20 percent on the second year.
Guam currently has no standardized tax regulations for what the bill describes as electronic nicotine-delivery systems (ENDS).
January 8, 2024
Dutch Vapers Hoarding Flavored Vapes Ahead of Ban

Credit: NK
Vapers in the Netherlands have been stocking up on products ahead of a flavor ban set to take effect in 2024, reports the NL Times, citing Emil ‘t Hart of the Esigbond Trade Association.
“You see that the consumers are hoarding as much as possible in the specialist stores,” ‘t Hart was quoted as saying. “Especially the real vapers who had switched over from cigarettes are hoarding.”
From Jan. 1, 2024, stores will not be allowed to sell vapes or fluids with flavors like peach, mango or mint. Only products with the taste of tobacco will be permitted. The government hopes its measure will prevent youngsters from starting the nicotine habit and then migrating to combustible products.
‘t Hart believes the measure will be counterproductive, however. “People who have smoked regular cigarettes before turning to e-cigarettes would then be tempted to go back to traditional cigarettes,” he said.
According to ‘t Hart many vapers have been buying their e-cigarettes online from sellers in France, Spain or China, or at physical stores in neighboring Belgium and Germany.
A legal challenge against the flavor ban, filed by the Esigbond in April, is currently making its ways through the courts. ‘t Hart expects a ruling this summer.
January 1, 2024
Judge Grants Stay for Multnomah County Flavor Ban

Credit: Stock Pics
Multnomah County’s flavored tobacco ban is now on hold.
The flavor ban in the largest county in Oregon was set to go into effect on Jan. 1.
In a ruling Friday, the Oregon Court of Appeals issued a temporary stay against the policy, pending ongoing litigation.
The owner of a local vape shop said they were preparing to pull dozens of products off their shelves before getting the news.
He said flavored products make up 90% of their business, according to KATU news.
“It was going to be a trip. Like I’d have zero nicotine devices available, but again, those aren’t like a popular seller, so it was going to take some strategy to even to be able to stay in business,” said Marcus Nettles, owner of Rose City Vapers.
December 30, 2023