San Francisco Bans Vaping Flavored Liquid

San Francisco city supervisors have approved in unanimity a measure to ban the sale of vaping flavored liquid that is used in electronic cigarettes. While also banning flavored tobacco products. The reason behind their decision is because they say that nicotine masked in cotton candy, banana cream, mint and other flavors entices children into a life-long addiction.

San Francisco Authorities Ban Vaping Flavored Liquid

In a recent event of limiting the access to vaping flavored liquid and flavored tobacco, San Francisco goes a step further by banning them completely.

On the one part, Supervisor Malia Cohen, who sponsored the bill, said that:

“We’re focusing on flavored products because they are widely considered to be a starter product for future smokers”.

On the other part, Gregory Conley, president of the American Vaping Association, a nonprofit organization advocating for vaping products, said that the bill adopted by the San Francisco officials is “complete nonsense”. He further adds that the bill ignores the positive sides of flavored nicotine-laced liquid in e-cigarettes.

A further point in his argument is a report published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in which it was found that the number of high school and middle school students that use e-cigarettes fell down from 3m last year to 2.2m this year.

However, it would seem, according to Conley, San Francisco supervisors disregard the report from the CDC. Nonetheless, in order to completely pass, the bill needs a supplementary vote by the city board next week. Voices say that it will pass. Once it does, the law would go into effect starting in April 2018.

The dispute is not new, though. Last year, Gov. Jerry Brown had approved stricter tobacco regulations. These are part of a special legislative session regarding healthcare. On the table was also the raising of the legal age from 18 to 21 in order to buy tobacco.

Local sellers and small business owners say that the banning of vaping flavored liquid in e-cigarettes, as well as flavored cigarettes and other types of tobacco, will decrease sales, forcing some of the businesses into bankruptcy because they cannot compete with bigger competitors or online shops, which are not restricted by law to prohibit the sale of certain products.

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