Flavor Ban Details, State by State
The last few months have seen a lot of controversy surrounding the vaping industry. Vaping related illnesses seem to have risen sharply and a strengthened campaign to keep teens from vaping has sprung up as a result. If you've done your research, however, you know that vaping involving nicotine and legal, tested products is not the issue. And while we should certainly be concerned with the safety and well-being of our teens, the harsh legislation being enacted all over the country is having very real effects on small businesses and adults who vape. We are being robbed of our freedom to choose a healthier lifestyle, one free of cigarettes and the harmful impact they have on our bodies.
But the reality is, unfortunately, that many of us are indeed facing flavor bans. While solutions do exist, and none of these bans are permanent (for now), we have to abide by them for as long as they're in effect. So in order to make things a little easier for our customers, we've compiled the chart below listing all the states where some kind of ban is in effect and the details of those bans.
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State
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Conditions
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Connecticut
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Vape ban pending, details TBD.
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Massachusetts
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Total ban on all vaping products, including e-liquid and hardware.
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Michigan
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Flavor ban temporarily blocked by state judge, details going forward TBD.
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Montana
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Temporary order preventing state from enforcing flavor ban. Tobacco flavors and hardware unaffected by ban. Hearing to determine final decision scheduled for Oct. 30 |
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New York
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Temporary order preventing state from enforcing flavor ban is in place until further notice |
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Oregon
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Temporary halt on six month flavor ban. Ban still in place on THC vaping products. Tobacco flavors and hardware unaffected. |
| Rhode Island | Flavor ban currently in effect. Tobacco flavors and hardware unaffected. |
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Utah
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Flavor ban currently in effect, but flavored products still available at local stores, regulated by local health departments. Tobacco flavors and hardware unaffected. |
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Washington
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Flavor ban currently in effect. Tobacco flavors and hardware unaffected. |
These nine states all have some type of flavor or vape ban regulation currently active in their state legislature. Just because a state is not listed, however, does not mean that a ban of some sort in the future is not possible. Lawmakers in Delaware, for instance, are reportedly in the process of drafting their own legislation to ban flavored vaping products and restrict related advertising. Politicians in Illinois and New Jersey are working to propose similar bans in their states. On a more localized scale, San Francisco has already banned the sale of ALL e-cigarettes within the city, and Los Angeles followed suit, with a flavor ban in that city going into effect in the coming weeks.
While these government-instituted bans are ill-informed and irresponsible, they are (at least for the time being) law. There are certainly solutions for those of us living under flavor bans, though. If you decide to pursue these solutions, we urge you to be careful and do your research about the mixing process to ensure that you are getting the best and safest experience from your homemade flavored e-liquid. And if you live in an area affected by a ban of some kind, we also urge you to fight for your rights: advocate, educate, and protest to maintain the ability to choose a smoke free lifestyle!