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ELECTRIC
ALLEY
Vapor Laws Go
‘Whac-A-Mole’
Local legislation continues at a fast clip.
BY RENÉE M. COVINO
social sources such as older friends, parents and strangers
to obtain tobacco products. All that a flavor ban does is
punish law-abiding retailers and cause adult consumers to
drive to a nearby town or city to not only buy their pre-
ferred tobacco products, but gasoline and other products
as well, further harming law-abiding retailers.”
However, there is some hope. In April, during the U.S.
Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and
Pensions’ hearing on Dr. Scott Gottlieb’s nomination as
U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) commission-
er, some senators expressed concerns that flavored vapor
products could lure adolescents into experimentation,
but Gottlieb declined to commit to a ban on flavored
vapor products.
“I recognize there is a line here somewhere,” he said,
adding that questions persist around when the devices
could aid smoking cessation and when they might serve
as a gateway to adolescent smoking. “I think a proper-
ly constructed and overseen regulatory process should
have the capacity under the authorities Congress gave
the agency to make these determinations.”
Trying to keep up and subdue local vapor laws is a bit
like beating down the varmints in a round of Whac-
A-Mole but with one obvious distinction: The popular
arcade game is considered a fun pastime.
Local legislation surrounding vapor continues to pick
up speed, popping up faster and more furiously across
the country. Currently, the top two local legislative con-
cerns regarding vapor-related ordinances, as identified
by the National Association of Tobacco Outlets (NATO),
include flavor bans and higher legal age restrictions.
Flavor Under Fire
Flavor bans are one of the fastest-growing proposed
restrictions on the local level, with many cities and
counties in key areas around the country attempting to
prohibit the sale of flavored tobacco products, including
flavored e-cigarettes and vapor.
“However, these bans are misplaced because, for the
vast majority of the time, retailers are not the source of
tobacco for underage youth,” maintains Thomas Briant,
executive director of NATO. “Rather, most youth rely on
All that a
flavor ban
does is punish
law-abiding
retailers and
cause adult
consumers
to drive to a
nearby town
or city to buy
their preferred
tobacco
products.