Licking County Board of Health to Conduct Annual Inspections of Retail Stores Selling ENDS Products
A new ordinance in the city of Heath, Ohio, will take effect on January 1, 2025, regulating the sale of electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) to ensure that only FDA-approved products are available for purchase at local stores. The ordinance, approved by city councilors last year, aims to protect Heath citizens from purchasing unapproved vaping devices and e-cigarettes.
Read moreCompanies Scramble to Find Alternatives as Tighter Restrictions Take Effect in January 2025
Tobacco sellers in Latvia are scrambling to find loopholes to circumvent the country’s new law that tightens rules on selling tobacco products and substitutes. The Baltic nation’s move to restrict the sale of these products has prompted businesses to seek alternative ways to offer their products to consumers.
Read moreA broad coalition of Washington educators, doctors, researchers, and social justice advocates has launched a campaign called “Flavors Hook Kids Washington” to ban flavored nicotine vapes and other tobacco products in the state. The group cites the contribution of these products to youth addiction as the primary reason for the proposed ban.
Read moreHouse Bill 11 Aims to Curb Youth Vaping, Forcing Retailers to Cut Back on Inventory
Starting January 1, 2025, Kentucky will implement new vape restrictions for retailers, limiting sales to products that have received authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) or have a “safe harbor certification.” The move, which aims to curb youth vaping in the state, is forcing businesses to reduce their inventory and select from a limited list of approved vapes.
Read moreThe Denver City Council has advanced a proposal to ban the sale of most flavored vape and tobacco products within the city, with a public hearing and potential final vote scheduled for Monday, December 16. The measure, which aims to curb nicotine addiction and improve public health, has sparked a heated debate between supporters and opponents, each with their own personal stories and concerns.
Many supporters of the flavored tobacco ban, including city council members and youth advocates, have shared their own experiences with the devastating effects of tobacco use. High school senior Isaac Hysten, whose mother died of a heart attack caused by a lifelong smoking habit, spoke at a youth rally in favor of the ban. Hysten himself struggled with flavored vape addiction before quitting.
Council members Shontel M. Lewis, Darrell Watson, and Serena Gonzales-Gutierrez, who sponsored the proposal, also cited personal and family histories with tobacco addiction as motivation for their support. Council President Amanda Sandoval shared her own story of losing her father to pancreatic cancer caused by smoking and her concern over her daughter’s vaping habit.
Opponents of the ban, including local tobacco and vape shop owners, argue that it would not effectively reduce consumption rates and would instead drive sales underground or to neighboring cities. Phil Guerin, owner of Myxed Up Creations on Colfax Avenue, emphasized that flavored products are popular among adults looking to quit smoking and that the ban would infringe upon adult choice.
Guerin, who has taken measures to prevent sales to minors, said the ban would put his business “in peril” and that education about tobacco and nicotine should start in the home. Opponents also point out that the ban could eliminate millions in tax revenue for the city.
Tobacco use remains the leading cause of preventable death in the United States and Colorado, killing more than 5,000 Coloradans each year. Supporters of the ban emphasize that flavors lure people, particularly youth and young adults, into hard-to-quit addictions. Menthol cigarettes, in particular, disproportionately impact Black Americans and other minority groups.
More than 550 retailers currently sell flavored tobacco products in Denver, with many residents living within walking distance of a tobacco retailer. The city’s public health department has issued 660 tobacco violations between 2017 and 2023.
As the debate continues, both sides agree on one point: children should not be using these products. The outcome of the December 16 public hearing and potential final vote will determine the future of flavored tobacco sales in Denver.
The Denver City Council voted 11 to 1 on Monday night to ban the sale of flavored vapes and other tobacco products within the city limits. The ordinance, which includes e-cigarettes, menthol cigarettes, vapes, and other flavored nicotine and tobacco products, aims to reduce nicotine use among teenagers and young adults.
Read moreAntitobacco Groups Urge Swift Action to Protect Public Health
Leading tobacco control organizations are calling on Addictions Minister Ya’ara Saks to swiftly remove flavoured vaping products from the market, as promised earlier this fall. The groups cite recent Canadian studies as further evidence of the harm caused by the federal government’s three-and-a-half-year delay in finalizing these critical regulations.
Read moreThe District Court in The Hague has ruled that the Dutch government had the right to impose a ban on flavored e-cigarettes to protect public health. The court made this decision in a substantive procedure initiated by tobacco product manufacturer British American Tobacco (BAT) and its affiliated company Nicoventures, who argued that the ban was unlawful.
The court stated that the harmfulness of e-cigarettes and the “attractiveness” of sweet flavors to young people are sufficiently established. The 2020 ban allows only certain types of tobacco flavors to be added to e-cigarettes, primarily because young people are sensitive to other flavors, particularly sweet ones. The government also saw indications that sweet-flavored e-cigarettes may eventually lead to smoking regular cigarettes, while the government aims for a “smoke-free generation” by 2040.
According to the court, the potential for e-cigarettes to encourage smoking regular cigarettes does not need to be scientifically proven for a ban to be implemented. The harmfulness of e-cigarettes and the attractiveness of sweet flavors to young people alone justify the flavor ban.
The court acknowledged that the flavor ban infringes on the free movement of goods within the EU but stated that such an infringement may be allowed to protect public health if it is “appropriate, necessary, and proportionate.” The court recognized that the state has the “political discretion to give greater weight to the interests of youth and of a future smoke-free generation in the context of public health.”
Denver city leaders have reopened discussions about potentially banning the sale of flavored tobacco products, including flavored nicotine products. At-Large City Council Member Serena Gonzales-Gutierrez, Council Member Shontel Lewis (District 8), and Council Member Darrell Watson (District 9) sponsored the proposal, which they presented to the Denver City Council’s Budget and Policy Committee on Monday.
Read morePoland’s Deputy Minister of Health, Wojciech Konieczny, announced during a parliamentary health committee meeting that a comprehensive and radical bill banning disposable vapes is ready. The proposed legislation would also eliminate all flavored e-cigarettes from the market, regardless of their form. While the exact timeline for further deliberation remains unclear, this proposal aligns with the appeals made by doctors and experts, particularly in the context of younger consumers’ health.
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