Lawmakers Have Backed Down From Their Proposal To Ban Flavored Vapor Products

Lawmakers have backed down from their proposal

to ban flavored vapor products, find out more

on this edition of Ruthless Insider.

Hello and

welcome to another edition of Ruthless insider.

Originally, Senate Bill 6254, introduced at

the request of Gov. Jay Inslee, would have

made permanent the emergency ban on flavored

vape products that was approved by the Board

of Health in October. But the legislation

was drastically amended Monday in the Senate,

and now allows for the sale of such products to

those 21 and older — in line with Washington’s

new tobacco and vapor law. Inslee’s senior

public health policy adviser Molly Voris says

the governor is “disappointed” with the

amendment, and that they are still pushing

for a broad ban on flavors. Voris also noted

that although the amendment excludes menthol

and tobacco from the definition of “flavored”

vape products, Centers for Disease Control

data shows that youths are still allegedly

using those products. With multiple bills

in the state legislature, it's possible flavors

could go away again but for now it seems that

they will be allowed to remain on the market

in the state. To those who argue that flavored

vapor products helped them quit smoking, Kathy

Lofy, of the Department of Health, claims

there is no definitive science to back that

up. This claim however does not align with

the FDA’s recent guidance which actually

stated in black and white that ENDS products

have been shown to be 3x more effective than

other cessation methods in helping adults

to quit smoking. Kathy had this to say on

the subject “We wish that we had definitive

science around the effectiveness of e-cigarettes

as a cessation device or as a harm reduction

strategy, but we do not have that science,”

Lofy said. She noted that many adults who

vape are also smoking cigarettes, increasing

their nicotine intake and making it harder

to quit. Lofy made a fairly bold claim here

which naturally, should be taken with a grain

of salt.

The ban on flavored products has not been

extended beyond the 120 day cutoff, but many

state legislators have vowed to make sure

that flavors are banned in the state. Why

do you think that so many of these lawmakers

have taken this issue so personally? Please

share your thoughts with us down below and

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been Nick with Ruthless Insider, and we’ll

see you next time!