Just when you thought the whole "Vaping Ban" talk had died down...it might be heating up again. Here's the latest on the vaping ban according to www.nyup.com that could include expanding the ban to include menthol vape products.

Public Health and Health Planning Council is set to vote Thursday (12/12/19) to keep the emergency ban on the books for another 90 days. The council had approved the ban in September but a state appeals court blocked the state from enforcing it in October. In addition, the council could also vote to now include menthol vaping products in the ban. So the only product that would be legal to buy would be unflavored or tobacco flavored vape products. I've talked to people that vape and they've told me that this ban could cause them to go back to smoking cigarettes.

 “While our scheduled enforcement of this ban has been delayed by pending litigation, we are confident that the court will agree that this is a public health emergency demanding immediate action to help ensure the wellbeing of our children," spokeswoman Jill Montag said.

So, here the crazy thing about all of this that I don't understand. I get that we want to keep vaping products out of the hands of our children. That's a good thing, but an all out ban on a product that is for adults doesn't make sense to me. We have all kinds of products that are for adults only that have flavors that could be appealing to children and teens. There are flavored cigarettes, flavored alcohols, candy infused with THC in state where it's legal...etc. We have laws and regulations to keep these out of the hands of anyone underage. Is it a perfect system? No, but for the most part it works pretty well with penalties for using these products if you're underage.

The other thing I don't understand about this proposed expanded ban is that it's pretty much been proven what caused all the health concerns. The CDC said that it was mostly caused by counterfeit, illegal vape cartridges that contained vitamin E and THC. So, instead of banning a product that is helping get smokers to quick smoking cigarettes we should use the energy spent to expand and extend the vape ban to educate the public on the dangers of counterfeit vape products?

I guess we'll find out later today on the vote and if more resources will be spent enforcing it...or fighting it.

 

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