A Trump Flavor Ban
Dear Mr. President,
I am outraged you would consider an e-liquid flavor ban.
I am a small vape shop owner in Oldsmar, Florida. I’ve been in the business since 2011 and have a 4.9 Star Google rating with over 270 reviews. I don’t vape and I don’t smoke tobacco cigarettes. My purpose in business is to help people with nicotine addiction and to improve American health by lessening the risks associated with smoking tobacco cigarettes.
With that said I want you to know all the reasons why a flavor ban is not good for the American people, our economy or my business. Before I get into these matters I want to be clear about the problem at hand so I can address each one.
The news media says to stop vaping because people are dying from e-cigarettes. Nobody is dying from e-cigarettes. Six people lost their battle with an illness inflicted on their lungs as a result of a chemical burn. This burn is what the CDC has noted as a diluent from vitamin E with acetate. It is a solvent used to convert marijuana to a liquid for the consumption through a THC filled cartridge. These are street level drug dealers selling their products on the black market.
In my opinion I believe the black market is a result of street level dealers who need to regain market share lost to dispensaries. They are attempting to learn how to replicate THC cartridges and make them stronger. Six people are now dead as a result of their pursuit of product development. They will attempt to improve their product and create even stronger ones using other ingredients like fenanyl, SPICE, and heroin. I fear what the black market will bring next.
But let’s be clear, this underbelly of thugs is the problem, not what the media calls “vaping” or “e-cigarettes”. As you very well know a lot of media sensationalism has been created around a false native that vaping is killing people. It is without a doubt the news media is acting irresponsibly and downright negligent considering they should publically decry bootleg adulterated THC cartridge as the true source of the problem.
With all that out of the way, we have a second problem. Along with all these THC related deaths, the media has piled on other matters, youth vaping. Youth vaping has exploded, I get that. As unfortunate as it sounds, it is a reflection of the success with vaping technology. There is a silver lining. Fewer kids are smoking harmful tobacco cigarettes. So how do we reduce the number of kids vaping? A “Trump Flavor Ban” is not the answer. We’re experiencing fatal results associated with a THC prohibition. Lets’ not create a flavor prohibition. A flavor prohibition will have terrible consequences. Besides there is something far better, in my opinion, that will reduce underage vaping.
Former FDA Director, Scott Gotlieb said it correctly when he was in office. He said vaping was the best technology ever to come about that most successfully helps smokers quit harmful tobacco cigarettes. However, when the rise of the JUUL and synthetic nicotine ascended onto the market is when we saw a spike in youth vaping. Synthetic nicotine was designed to be higher in strength so vaper would inhale less. Less demand meant smaller batteries which ultimately allowed for the creation of smaller vape devices. In my experience kids picked up on this phenomenon of synthetic nicotine more than adults ever would.
My recommendation is to outlaw the JUUL and synthetic nicotine. The nicotine strength is so strong, Scott Gotlieb said it perfectly when he said that vaping is no longer an alternative to smoking, it is recreational strength. He was right. Get rid of the synthetic nicotine before any flavor ban and watch youth vaping drop (other countries have done it). My perception is that youth vaping will drop dramatically.
A Trump Flavor Ban is a prohibition on vaping that WILL drive the market underground and send another American manufacturing industry overseas. A flavor ban will shut down small operations like mine and close all US labs. Unemployment will rise and millions of your constituents will not show up at the voting booth in 2020.
Alex Azar is to HHS as John Bolton was to the National Security team. He is ill advised and uninformed about the vape industry. His recommendations are incorrect and too drastic. Please find other people who are closer to the vape industry for advice. I know Melania’s heart is in the right place but to enact a Trump Flavor Ban is not the first line of defense when battling a youth vaping epidemic.
Cordially yours,
David Jeffery
Blue Cloud Vapes