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State and local vapor bans aren’t the only ones to be
fought. Industry-specific vapor bans from sea to air are
rearing their ugly heads, too, but not without opposition.
For one, the United States Navy has banned electronic
cigarettes and vaping devices throughout the fleet, cit-
ing concerns that the battery-powered products could
potentially explode and injure sailors. The new rule
“suspends the use, possession, storage and charging
of electronic nicotine-delivery systems (ENDS) aboard
ships, submarines, aircraft, boats, craft and heavy equip-
ment,” according to a recent Navy press release.
The prohibition applies to sailors, Marines, Military
Sealift Command civilians and any personnel working
on or visiting those units. “This new policy is in response
to continued reports of explosions of [electronic
nicotine-delivery devices] due to the overheating of
lithium-ion batteries,” the release said.
U.S. Rep. Duncan Hunter, a former smoker who is
now also known as “the vaping congressman,” wrote
a letter to the Navy urging it to reconsider its ban on
vapor products, which went into effect May 14.
Regarding vapor bans in the sky, the Competitive
Enterprise Institute (CEI), a nonprofit libertarian think
tank, reported that its lawsuit with the U.S. Department
of Transportation (DOT) over the federal regulation that
created the DOT’s airplane vaping ban continued in
April in the Court of Appeals for the District of Colum-
bia Circuit.
The CEI’s argument was that the DOT “overstepped
its authority” after the government agency admitted in
2012 that e-cigarettes neither burn tobacco nor produce
smoke and because the agency neglected to provide
evidence of harm to passengers.
Tobacco 21 Tornado
Raising the legal age to purchase tobacco products in-
cluding vapor products—is another major local regula-
tory trend. Most often, the proposal is to raise the legal
purchase age to 21 (which is why it has become known
as “Tobacco 21” legislation), “despite the fact that
18-, 19- and 20-year-olds can vote, volunteer to serve
in the military, get married, take out loans for college
and make their own health care decisions,” points out
Briant. “Legal-age adults should be allowed to make
the decision as to whether to use tobacco products or
not without government stepping in and dictating what
these young adults can and cannot do.”
Briant isn’t the only one fighting that fight. The board
of commissioners in Genesee County, Michigan, put on
hold a measure scheduled to take effect on May 15 that
would have raised the minimum age to purchase tobacco
and vapor products from 18 to 21. This was after RPF
Oil Company, which owns many gas stations and conve-
nience stores that sell tobacco in the county, filed a law-
suit in the 7th Circuit Court, claiming that it violates the
Age of Majority Act, which states that anyone age 18 “is
an adult of legal age for all purposes whatsoever.”
The overarching regulatory problem for vapor is
a good, old-fashioned conflict of interest, says Kathy
Hoekstra, the regulatory policy reporter for Watchdog.
org. She recently opined that rather than promote what
is potentially a lifesaving alternative for smokers, the
public health establishment in the U.S. warns against
using vapor products for smoking cessation based on
“potential health risks,” when, in reality, many vapor
opponents have serious conflicts of interest due to
financial relationships with pharmaceutical companies
that manufacture FDA-approved cessation products.
Taxing Triumph
Meanwhile, there is some good news to report where local
vapor legislation is concerned. Recently, the New York
Legislature eliminated all language for vapor product
regulations from Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s $152.3 billion
executive budget proposal that would have imposed
a 10-cent per milliliter excise tax on e-liquid. Andrew
Osborne, vice president of the New York State Vapor
Association, praised the move, saying, “We’re happy
to see New York take a step back from these aggressive
regulations that would have essentially decimated the
entire industry in the Empire State.”
Dr. Edward Anselm, a senior fellow at R Street
Institute, also applauded the decision, saying that
“common sense appears to have prevailed in the state
Senate.” He recognizes, however, that controversies
and the need for continued improvement in the state’s
performance on tobacco control still exist. He believes
the local administration should “convene a panel to
review the evidence and set meaningful policies that
address the needs of all New Yorkers.”
Pennsylvania’s Senate Finance Committee is also
moving on a bill to kill vapor product excise taxes. The
bill would eliminate the state’s current 40 percent excise
tax on vapor products and replace it with a new, lower
excise tax.
Despite all the local legislation vapor momen-
tum, some good, but mostly bad, the industry itself is
reportedly on the rise. Florida-based Premier Vapor
recently released a statement reporting that, from the
inception of the vapor industry, “there has been an
exponential growth of up to almost $7 billion in reve-
nues within just a couple of years, with no indications
of slowing down.”
TB
Sea andAir BansMeet
Opposition
Legal-age
adults should be
allowed to make
the decision
as to whether
to use tobacco
products or
not without
government
stepping in and
dictating what
these young
adults can and
cannot do.
Electric Alley
Continued