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VAPOR
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MEET VTA’S NEW STATE ADVOCATE
An interview with Vapor Technology Association’s
JAKE BUTCHER
BY JENNIFER GELFAND
In September, Jake Butcher, a seasoned vapor industry expert and state
government affairs specialist, joined VTA as its state affairs manager,
an appointment that VTA Executive Director Tony Abboud said sig-
naled the association’s commitment to fighting at the state level. “We
cannot save vapor unless our industry is also prepared to fight at the
state level,” he asserted. “It’s as simple as that. With the FDA’s decla-
ration that we are ‘tobacco,’ the state-level anti-vaping groups in co-
ordination with their national counterparts are already planning their
assault on our industry. We will combat their coordinated assault with
our own multi-state coordinated strategy.”
Butcher will lead the association’s efforts to combat local legislation that
would devastate small vapor businesses. It’s a task with which he has ample
experience, notes Cignot owner Victoria Vasconcellos, a leading industry
advocate and the leader of the Smoke Free Alternatives Coalition of Il-
linois. “Jake is not only a pleasure to work with, he is truly gifted in the
realm of legislative affairs,” says Vasconcellos, who worked with Butcher to
successfully advocate for the industry in Illinois. “He gets our business, he
cares, and most importantly, his advice has always been spot on.”
Recently,
TBI
caught up with Butcher to discuss his approach to advo-
cacy at the state level. The following are excerpts from that interview.
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