Tag: flavor ban

County Judge Halts Ohio Ban on Local Tobacco Laws

Credit: Promesa Art Studio
A county judge in Ohio issued a temporary restraining order late Friday afternoon, stopping a state law from taking effect next week that would prevent Columbus, several Franklin County suburbs, Cincinnati, and other Ohio cities from regulating tobacco products, including enacting flavor bans.
The ruling means the local cities’ bans on selling flavored vaping and other tobacco products will remain in effect for now, according to media reports. However, the move indicates that Franklin County Common Pleas Judge Mark Serrott believes the cities’ case will likely succeed.
Serrott scheduled a preliminary injunction hearing in the case for May 17.
Columbus, Cincinnati, and several other Ohio cities filed a lawsuit Tuesday challenging the law created by the Republican-controlled Ohio General Assembly. The cities argue the legislature violated an Ohio constitutional amendment giving cities “home rule” to set their own laws for the good of their residents on certain matters, including on issues of public safety.
The cities argue the new Ohio law allowing flavored tobacco sales negatively affects the health of Ohioans, particularly of teens increasingly turning to vaping.
Serrott also noted that while one state law prohibits municipalities from regulating tobacco, another requires a plan to reduce tobacco use by Ohioans. That code emphasizes reducing the use of tobacco by “youth, minority and regional populations, pregnant women, Medicaid recipients, and others who may be disproportionately affected by the use of tobacco.”
In granting the restraining order, Serrott concluded the cities’ challenge to the constitutionality of the state law is likely to succeed ultimately — although he also acknowledged the state is expected to appeal his final ruling.
April 20, 2024
Vape Shop Owners Vow to Challenge Utah Flavor Ban

Credit: Jovannig
A new Utah law that will prohibit the sale of flavored e-cigarettes has supporters of the law arguing that flavored e-cigarettes are making children addicted to nicotine. However, implementing the law won’t only have a severe impact on Utah’s almost 200 vape shops; it will devastate them, according to an industry representative who has expressed their intention to challenge the law in court.
The sponsor of that law, pediatrician and Salt Lake Democratic Sen. Jen Plumb, said she has seen kids in the emergency room going through withdrawal because they can’t vape in the hospital and friends whose children are anxious about going without their nicotine on long flights, according to media reports.
Plumb’s bill, signed into law last month by Gov. Spencer Cox, goes further than just banning flavors — aside from tobacco or menthol. It also bans the sale of any vape product with a nicotine concentration above 4 percent. And it only allows the sale of products that have either been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration or have submitted an application for approval prior to September 2020.
Nobody knows how many products will have to be removed from shelves. To date, there are only 17 FDA-approved products from three manufacturers that meet the criteria, and an FDA spokeswoman said they don’t know how many pre-2020 applications are still pending.
According to Beau Maxon, vice president of the Utah Vapor Business Association and owner of Park City Vapor Company, one thing is certain: It will be a death sentence for many vape shop owners.
“There’s no question about it,” Maxon said in an interview, “it is going to put the retail tobacco specialty industry in jeopardy and you’re going to see a lot of them not able to stay open.”
That’s because in a vape shop like his, Maxon said, 99.9 percent of the products they sell are flavored — not because they’re targeting kids, but because it’s what his adult customers want.
Without other options, shop owners will challenge the law in court over the businesses that will be forced to close, the creation of a monopoly for convenience stores and Big Tobacco products, and potentially other grounds.
“There’s no question about it,” Maxon said. “We will be litigating it.”
April 19, 2024
U.K. to Vote Tuesday on Tobacco Endgame Bill

Vapor Voice archives
On Tuesday, British lawmakers will vote on a generational smoking ban aimed at preventing young people from smoking.
The bill, a key policy announced by Conservative Prime Minister Rishi Sunak last year, will make it illegal to sell tobacco products to anyone born after 2009, according to media reports.
The proposal has the support of the opposition Labour Party and is expected to pass. However, some libertarian-minded members of Sunak’s party criticized the proposals as “unconservative.”
Authorities say that if passed, the bill will create modern Britain’s “first smoke-free generation”.
Supporting the ban, England’s chief medical officer, Professor Sir Chris Whitty, said once people become addicted to smoking, “their choice is taken away.”
Under the Tobacco and Vapes Bill, children turning 15 this year or younger will never be legally sold tobacco. The legal age of sale that people in England can buy cigarettes will be raised by one year, every year, until it is eventually illegal for the whole population.
The bill also includes measures to crack down on youth vaping, such as banning the sale of disposable vapes and limiting their flavors to prevent children from becoming addicted to nicotine.
Opponents, such as Conservative lawmaker Simon Clarke, have said it is better to focus on education and the tax system to deter young people from smoking rather than enforcing an outright ban.
“I think that an outright ban risks being counterproductive; I think it actually risks making smoking cooler; it certainly risks creating a black market,” he told the BBC.
April 16, 2024
Uzbekistan Plans to Ban Heated Tobacco, Vapes
Tashkent TV Tower Aerial Shot During Sunset in Uzbekistan (Credit: Lukas)
The Ministry of Health in Uzbekistan has proposed a ban on the circulation of electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) products, e-liquids and heated tobacco products, Trend reports.
This is shown in the draft law published on Uzbekistan’s portal to discuss draft normative legal acts.
According to the law, the circulation of ENDS products on the “territory of the country is prohibited.”
The Ministry of Health also proposes to introduce administrative and criminal liability for violation of this ban—a fine in the amount of $1,000 to five years of imprisonment.
According to data from Uzbekistan’s Statistics Agency, the production volume of tobacco products in the country reached 2.1 billion pieces from January through February 2024.
From January through February 2024, the country’s exports of tobacco products reached $7.8 million, while imports amounted to $10.5 million during the same period.
April 14, 2024
Lawmakers to Let Vermont Veto of Flavor Ban Stand
Credit: Belyay
The governor vetoed a bill last week that would have banned flavored vaping and tobacco products in Vermont, and it appears lawmakers won’t override him.
Gov. Phil Scott expressed concerns about a loss in state revenues. He also argued it would be hypocritical to enact such a ban while Vermont continues to benefit from the sale of flavored cannabis and alcohol products.
It takes a two-thirds majority in both the House and Senate to override a veto. And while the bill passed both chambers by wide margins, it never met that threshold, according to media reports. This week, Senator Phil Baruth announced on the Senate floor that the chamber would not attempt an override.
Backers of the legislation, who have pursued the ban for years, say they’ll continue exploring their options.
April 14, 2024
Canada Relaunches Three-Year-Old Flavor Ban

Photo: DD Images
Canada is set to enact a three-year-old flavor ban, according to Vaping360. The regulations were first published in June 2021 in the Canada Gazette but then never went into effect. Now, however, Health Minister Mark Holland has reinvigorated the ban.
Holland previously worked at Heart and Stroke, where he was the national director of children and youth. “I was with Heart and Stroke when we dealt with the issue of vaping,” he said, “and there were many voices at that time, when information was uncertain, who said, ‘Let this exist as a cessation tool. Don’t take action.’ The result of that, unfortunately, was that the tobacco industry was able to addict a whole new cohort of young people—who had no exposure to nicotine—to something that’s absolutely deadly for their health. It has had very injurious outcomes for our health system.”
Vaping proponents warned that the measure could backfire. “As presented, Minister Holland’s proposal will not achieve the desired public health objectives and could, on the contrary, seriously harm a significant number of Canadian adult ex-smokers, the Vaping Industry Trade Association (VITA) wrote in a press release.
“This appears to be a personal legacy project for the Minister of Health, supported strongly by his former peers at the Heart and Stroke Foundation, the Canadian Cancer Society, the Canadian Lung Association and some smaller anti-smoking NGOs [nongovernmental organizations],” said VITA Managing Director Thomas Kirsop.
The ban would give manufacturers a list of fewer than 100 allowable flavoring ingredients that can only be used to create e-liquid in tobacco, mint and menthol flavors. Sweeteners of any kind would be banned. The regulations will also “prescribe sensory attributes standards to prevent a sensory perception other than one that is typical of tobacco or mint/menthol.”
April 11, 2024
Vermont Governor Vetos Flavored Vape Sales Ban
Credit: rabbit75 fot
The governor of Vermont, Phil Scott, has vetoed legislation banning the sale of flavored vaping and tobacco and products in the state.
Backers of the bill say it would help discourage young people from becoming addicted to tobacco. But Scott described the bill as “hypocritical” because Vermont allows the sale of flavored alcohol and cannabis products. He read part of his veto letter during a press conference in Montpelier, according to media reports.
“I’ve found people lose faith in government when policies have these types of inconsistencies because they contradict common sense,” Scott said. “Furthermore, from a purely practical point of view, these products will continue to be widely available just across the river in New Hampshire and through online sales.”
Bill sponsors say they’ll try to secure the votes to override Scott’s veto in the coming weeks. The bill didn’t pass either the House or Senate with veto-proof majorities.
April 5, 2024
Belgium Disposable Ban Won’t Reduce Use: Vape Group

Credit: Carius Badstuber
A ban on disposable vapes will not reduce consumption, according to a Dutch e-cigarette association press release. The announced sales ban on disposable vapes in Belgium, just like the flavor ban in the Netherlands, will not help young people use fewer e-cigarettes, said Emil ‘t Hart, chairman of the Dutch Industry Association of Electronic Cigarette Sellers (Esigbond).
With the ban beginning January 1 next year, Belgium wants to ensure that young people, in particular, use fewer products containing the harmful and addictive substance nicotine. “I wonder how enforceable this is. Vapes are also bought in Belgium through all kinds of channels, such as Chinese online stores or Snapchat. But you can’t stop the online trade with a ban,” Hart claimed.
The chairman said a few days before the Dutch ban came into force in January that people in the Netherlands are circumventing the flavor ban by buying flavored vapes in Belgium and elsewhere. Young people, Hart said, are not as affected by the ban because they too often buy disposable vapes online in China. “The best thing would be to close the gates to China,” he said.
Belgian Minister of Health Frank Vandenbroucke announced the sales ban this week. According to him, Belgium will become the first country in Europe to ban the sale of disposable vapes.
March 26, 2024
Utah Flavor Ban, Vape Registry to Begin Jan. 1, 2025
Credit: Tyler Moore
Utah Gov. Spencer Cox signed a bill Wednesday banning the sale of flavored vape products in the state.
Senate Bill 61 outlaws the sale of flavored e-cigarette cartridges and disposable devices, specifically targeting flavors such as fruit, candy, dessert, alcoholic beverages, spice, or mint.

Menthol and tobacco flavors will still be allowed. The ban will take effect on Jan. 1, 2025.
According to media reports, the Utah bill bans flavored vapes and outlaws the sale of any vape that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has not authorized.
Initially, the bill allowed mint as a flavor, but lawmakers later removed it in a late-session agreement.
Last month, protesters gathered in the capitol rotunda to stand against the bill. Many were adults who said they enjoy using flavored vape products, and some noted that vaping has helped wean them off more damaging cigarettes.
March 21, 2024
Governor Scott may Veto Vermont Flavor Ban Bill
Credit: Andy Dean
The Vermont House and Senate have agreed to a bill banning the sale of flavored tobacco and e-cigarette products.
However, the legislation faces a possible veto from Gov. Phil Scott.
Backers of the ban say the state spends roughly $400 million a year to treat tobacco-related illnesses and that the tobacco industry targets younger smokers with fruit-flavored vaping products and BIPOC adults with menthol cigarettes.
It’s estimated that the ban could result in a $15 million loss in state tax revenue, which Scott is concerned about.
At a recent press conference, he also said the bill is inconsistent with state law, which allows the sale of flavored alcohol and cannabis products, according to media reports.
“So it just seems like we’re not being fair about this in some respects. I mean, we already do it in some, many areas,” Scott said. “If it’s $15 million that we stand to lose by putting this ban into place, I think we better reflect on that.”
Supporters of the bill argue that the revenue loss will be offset by the huge savings in health care costs associated with the ban.
March 21, 2024