TOB Magazine

[ 40 ]

TOBACCO BUSINESS INTERNATIONAL

[ 01

17 ]

TBI:

How did you get involved

in the vapor industry?

Butcher:

I originally became interested

in the industry because I came from a long

line of farmers and coal miners, and a lot

of smokers as well. I have seen firsthand the

challenges associated with trying to quit the

use of combustible cigarettes, some successful

and some not. Trying to quit that product is

a daily struggle. This new innovative technol-

ogy is a way to shift away from that product

and improve health.

I’ve now been involved in the industry on

the government affairs side for a few years.

Our law firm represented an Illinois vapor as-

sociation for a little over two years and we have

enjoyed success addressing some of the issues

that we are seeing nationally now. These were

things that were not unique to Illinois, things

that have been raised by opponents of the va-

por industry across the country—flavor-ban

legislation and efforts to add vapor products to

the Smoke Free Illinois Act. We also saw ef-

forts in the past year to increase the age to vape

from 18 to 21, and overall an effort to treat va-

por product in the same regulatory framework

as combustible cigarettes.

TBI:

More and more states and

local municipalities are proposing

those types of restrictions on vapor

products. How will VTA approach

advocating for the industry

at the local level?

Butcher:

A big part of this [fight] and a big

part of what VTA is looking to do is about

education. I think the biggest thing with pol-

icymakers, staffers, legislators and across the

country in the various states is education and

addressing these issues with that approach.

Take any of the issues we have talked about—

flavor bans, raising the legal age—there needs

to be a uniform framework. Most would agree

that a patchwork framework is ineffective and

confusing. So that is one of the big things we

are trying to address by working with these

state groups across the country.

TBI:

Currently, we have the new

deeming regulations from the FDA and

then we also have states enacting their

own restrictions. How do you expect

this to pan out? Will states continue to

push their own agendas? Or is there

any indication that now that there are

FDA rules, some of them may take a

wait-and-see approach?

Butcher:

That is yet to be seen. You have

to remember that when the deeming regs

came down, most legislatures were in the

middle of their regularly scheduled sessions. I

think now we may see more of an effort at the

state level to treat vapor product like tobac-

co products. Anti-vapor advocates will push

that—that vapor products are tobacco prod-

ucts and should be regulated as such. We just

have a fundamentally different view of that

than they do. There will be more research

done, and we have to educate policymakers

and lawmakers. That is why VTA has taken

the steps [it has] in seeking to formalize the

coordination of state activities.

TBI:

What have you learned from

your experience thus far? Do state

legislators understand the industry?

Are they willing to listen?

Butcher:

It depends on the state and how

much work we have done there to date. I would

say it varies; some legislators are well informed

and others we have to do more work on. A

positive thing from my perspective is that we

came across very few who are close-minded on

this issue. At a minimum they are willing to

listen and that makes the effort all that much

more important. This is an industry that is

undefined and in some respects fairly new, es-

pecially in terms of regulation. So getting our

message out is critical.

Building relationships and educating is our

next step, going in and providing background

that decision makers can rely on. It requires

a state-by-state approach. Various states have

had bills advance to different levels. In some

states where they are challenged for revenue,

taxation is a big concern. In others, flavor bans

are a big concern.

Some states have acted; others are, at least

from our perspective, taking a serious look and

not rushing to legislate. We are certainly look-

ing to advocate against irresponsible tax poli-

cies. What the general assembly in Pennsylva-

nia did is one that comes to mind. They were

caught in a tough budget situation, although

that’s no excuse.

TBI:

What can retailers do to help

ensure that legislators understand

the industry?

Butcher:

One of the biggest things is form-

ing a common association to work together on

advocacy. That is the biggest first step. What

we are seeking to do with VTA is take a pro-

active approach to education and influencing

policy at a state level. We have been fortunate

in Illinois and some other states to band to-

gether and work together on a coordinated ap-

proach. Instead of one person contacting their

legislators, you have several hundred reaching

out in a coordinated manner.

Obviously it is important for every single

shop to make contact with their legislators.

I think that that one-on-one connection—

bringing them in, inviting them into your shop

and showing them what you do on a day-in

and day-out basis to try to improve lives—is

important. That would be my biggest advice:

band together with other shops on common

goals, whether that be against taxation or fla-

vor bans; the principles are the same.

TBI:

There is some concern that pas-

sionate individual advocates approach-

ing legislators might do more damage

than good. What’s your view?

Butcher:

Most legislators are not experts

on the vapor industry. We are trying to take

our expertise and distill it into a subset of in-

formation the legislators can absorb, distill

down and use for public purposes. I think that

presenting a coordinated, consistent message

is important and [having] everyone commu-

nicating on the same or similar message. The

issue is complicated and legislators who better

understand our issues are more able to detail

out the nuances in different arguments.

At the same time, I am not a fan of script-

ing. I am not for micromanaging. Don’t get me

wrong, I don’t think there is anything wrong

with a business owner approaching a legisla-

tor who represents where they live. The more

people we have in the process, the better. A big

part of this industry is grassroots grown, so the

idea that they shouldn’t reach out would be

troubling. [It’s] just the more coordinated and

consistent we can be, the better.

That’s why we are focused on getting ready

and making sure the federal approach and the

state approach are coordinated; we don’t want

to lose ground at the state level that we gained

on the federal level and vice versa. State coor-

dination is something that the industry [has]

needed and I am excited to be a part of it.

For more information on VTA’s advocacy,

visit

Savevapor.org

TBI