Tag: Americans for Tax Reform

  • ATR: Scott Veto a ‘Huge Relief’ for Vermont Vapers

    ATR: Scott Veto a ‘Huge Relief’ for Vermont Vapers

    Credit: Carsten Reisinger

    Vermont Governor Phil Scott returned Senate Bill 18, a sweeping ban on flavored tobacco, vapor, and all other nicotine-containing products, without a signature after it passed the Senate 18-11 and the House 83-53. Both fell short of enough votes to override the veto.

    Tim Andrews, director of Consumer Issues for Americans for Tax Reform (ATR), said Scott’s veto is a “huge relief” to Vermonters who rely on vaping products to avoid returning to combustible cigarette use. He also said, “Rejecting the tax hike will make it easier for those who currently smoke to achieve cessation using vapor products, as flavors are proven to be a crucial factor in an adult smoker’s decision to quit.”

    In his veto letter, Scott described S.18 as “hypocritical and out of step with other initiatives that have been passed”. Alongside the double standard of enacting a tobacco flavor ban post the legalization of cannabis (flavored varieties included) in 2020 and state advertisement of flavored alcohol products, the bill also compromises the state’s revenue stability, the ATR wrote in a press release.

    This bill would have resulted in an estimated revenue loss of between $7.1 to $14.2 million in fiscal year 2027. Nearby Massachusetts has already experienced similar consequences as a result of its own flavor ban, seeing a $17 million loss in tobacco tax revenue to New Hampshire, which gained $18 million in revenues as residents drove across the border to purchase flavored products, according to ATR.

  • Nine Groups Sign Letter to End Tobacco Prohibitions

    Nine Groups Sign Letter to End Tobacco Prohibitions

    Image: Tobacco Reporter archive

    Nine advocacy groups, including Americans for Tax Reform, have signed a letter supporting proposed legislation that would deny the U.S. Food and Drug Administration funds to implement its plans for nicotine levels and menthol flavors.

    Sections 768 and 769 of the Fiscal Year 2024 Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration and Related Agencies Appropriations bill ensure that no funds provisioned by the bill can be used to implement a maximum nicotine level for cigarettes, to prohibit menthol flavors for cigarettes or cigars or other special flavors for cigars.

    The letter notes the impact that tax hikes and bans can have on smuggling and organized crime and warns about a possible expansion of the black market. It also advocates for educating consumers to better empower them to make educated choices.

    “The protections included in Sections 768 and 769 of this bill would prevent overreach by regulators that would have significant negative impact on taxpayers, farmers, retailers, consumers, manufacturers, state and local governments and supply chains across the country,” the letter states.

  • ‘We Vape, We Vote’ Bus Tour Kicks Off in Arizona

    ‘We Vape, We Vote’ Bus Tour Kicks Off in Arizona

    Credit: AVM

    A new bus tour to promote vaping in the U.S. began on Oct. 8. The event kicked off at American Vapor Manufacturers (AVM) president Amanda Wheeler’s vape shop, Jvapes Vape & Smoke Shop in Prescott, Arizona.

    “Every American should have the right to use vaping to quit cigarettes. Critical health decisions should be up to the individual. Not the [U.S. Food and Drug Administration]. Not the [U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention]. And certainly not nanny-state politicians in Congress,” the We Vape, We vote website states. “This fundamental belief underlies our entire effort. That’s why we need leaders who recognize vaping as a powerful harm reduction tool and the single most effective smoking cessation device ever created.”

    The tour is designed to coincide with the midterm elections, and is intended to “amplify the voices of vapers in the 2022 elections,” according to Americans for Tax Reform (ATR), the Washington, D.C.-based organization sponsoring the tour. Events will include “rallies at vape shops, voter registration drives, discussions with lawmakers” and more, says ATR.

    Alongside ATR and the AVM, the U.S. vape trade groups joining the tour are the Consumer Advocates for Smoke-free Alternatives Association (CASAA) and the Iowa Vape Association.

    “Events will be covered by local media and promoted on our social media accounts, sending a clear message to lawmakers in state and federal legislatures that vaping saves lives and America’s vapers vote accordingly,” says ATR.

    The tour will make 13 stops in 13 states, including Colorado, Iowa, Wisconsin, Illinois, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Washington, D.C. and, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida.

    The entire schedule can be found at WeVapeWeVote.org website.

  • Study Finds Flavor Bans Failed to Reduce Youth Vaping

    Study Finds Flavor Bans Failed to Reduce Youth Vaping

    Credit: Steheap

    A recently accepted manuscript of an article set for publication in Nicotine & Tobacco Research found that flavored vaping and other tobacco sales restrictions in California did not affect youth e-cigarette use.

    Karl Abramson, writing for American for Tax Reform (ATR), says that the findings are prominent because proponents of flavor bans claim that flavored vaping products are the cause of youth vaping, and therefore must be banned.

    Researchers analyzed data from the California Healthy Kids Survey to look at e-cigarette use among high-school students in the California Bay Area.

    They compared changes in e-cigarette use between 2018 and 2019 among students attending school in a city with a flavored e-cigarette ban and student attending school in a city without a flavor ban.

    The researchers concluded that flavored vape bans “did not significantly change” the odds of current and ever e-cigarette use among students. 

    Local flavor bans in California “were not associated with a change” in e-cigarette use, meaning that the policies that were intended to decrease youth vaping did not accomplish that goal.

    “Flavored vape bans are proven to have drastically negative consequences for public health, state finances, and national security,” writes Abramson. According to a study from Yale University researcher Abigail Friedman, a flavor ban in San Francisco led to chances of youth smoking more than doubling.

    “Because flavors are essential for adults trying to quit smoking, flavor bans prevent adults from making the lifesaving switch,” he stated. “State finances are impacted by flavor bans as well, like in Massachusetts where a ban on flavored vaping and tobacco products is costing the state an estimated $10 million each month.

    “Flavor bans prevent these lives from being saved and are shown to have no impact on youth use. Flavor prohibition is entirely the wrong approach for lawmakers to take with novel reduced-risk nicotine products.”

  • 23-Member Coalition: FDA Must Request PMTA Extension

    23-Member Coalition: FDA Must Request PMTA Extension

    A coalition of 23 organizations have written a letter to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to follow the common-sense recommendations of the Small Business Administration (SBA). The SBA had recommended companies seek a court order to allow vaping manufacturers to keep products on the market while their premarket tobacco product application (PMTA) submissions are being reviewed.

    Credit: Tanasin

    Due to the large volume of PMTAs submitted—the FDA says it received more than 6 million applications— the FDA has stated publicly that it is unlikely that the agency will be able to process all submissions before manufacturers are required to pull their products off the market. All products must be removed from market on Sept. 9, 2022 without FDA approval, according to a court order.

    The coalition letter, organized by the Americans for Tax Reform (ATR) acknowledged that FDA promised to exercise discretion in enforcement, stating that “this does not provide the degree of certainty necessary for businesses who have complied with all relevant regulations and have not received authorization due to processing delays by FDA. If an extension is not granted, there could be devastating consequences for businesses, particularly small businesses. Furthermore, any potential reduction in the supply of safe alternatives to tobacco could have a negative impact on public health across the United States and lead to an increase in tobacco-related mortality.”

    The letter also argues that there “millions of consumers who depend on ENDS products for their health and thousands of businesses who depend on these products for their livelihood are threatened by this needless bureaucratic uncertainty.” The coalition states that the only way to avert a disastrous outcome for businesses and consumers is for the FDA to obtain a court order allowing it to extend the existing moratorium on enforcement by another year.

    “The vaping industry, unlike many others, was created by small businesses, and these same small businesses continue to drive innovation in the market,” the coalition letter states. “Without these entrepreneurs, the vape industry will be consolidated into a few large corporations, causing prices to rise and consumer choice to decrease.”

    The full letter and list of signatories can be read here.