It’s straight tobacco or nothing under a bill that would ban Maryland retailers from selling any flavored tobacco products, including menthol cigarettes. The bill has the support of a number of groups, including the American Cancer Society and the Maryland NAACP. Opponents of the bill testified before the House Economic Matters Committee that suppliers, distributors and retailers stand to lose millions with the ban and that the state would lose millions in tax revenue.”

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Lawmakers Hear Details Of Bill That Would Ban All Flavored Tobacco Products In Maryland

“Manhattan Beach this week moved a step closer to banning all tobacco products and vaping devices from being sold in the city. The City Council on Tuesday, Feb. 4, approved an ordinance banning tobacco sales. It passed 4-1, with Councilwoman Suzanne Hadley opposing the new law. It will go back to the council for a second and final — and largely pro forma — vote in the coming months, said City Attorney Quinn Barrow. If adopted, the new law will prohibit the sale of electronic smoking devices, vaping cartridges, and all forms of tobacco, including all flavors, cigarettes, chew and cigars. The ordinance first went before the City Council in December, but was postponed so that officials could expand it to include everything tobacco related.”

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Manhattan Beach moves one step closer to overall tobacco, vape ban

“The CDC recently amended its suggestion of avoiding vaping altogether to a more specific recommendation to not use THC-containing products. Even so, fewer adults actually blame THC vapes for the lung illnesses, down to 28 percent in the most recent poll from 34 percent in the September survey. The initial panic of vaping-related illness made a big splash, but the updated conclusion has barely made a ripple in the mainstream news cycle. “I think to some degree, it’s been intentional to conflate nicotine vaping with the THC-cannabis vaping, perhaps with the well-meaning motive about the teen panic about vaping increasing,” said Dr. David Abrams, professor of social and behavioral sciences at New York University’s School of Global Public Health. “I think some people are thinking, ‘Let’s just demonize all vaping,’ regardless of what the science says.””

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E-Cigarettes Increasingly Blamed for Lung Illnesses, as Evidence Points Elsewhere

“Tobacco & Vaping legislation and regulation is constantly under review at the local, state and federal levels. In this monthly roundup, Convenience Store News highlights the latest proposals and approved changes happening across the United States.”

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Tackling Tobacco: January 2020 Legislative & Regulatory Roundup

“Gov. Ned Lamont will unveil a revised budget Wednesday that bans flavored vaping liquids, including menthol. And while it includes no major tax hikes, sources said the governor’s budget for the upcoming fiscal year would increase the levy adopted last May on e-cigarettes. Lamont, who met with New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo last September to discuss vaping, pledged his administration would intensify efforts in 2020 to curb its use. The governor also continues to support the legalization of recreational marijuana and the taxation of cannabis sales, but his budget assumes no new revenue from this change.”

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Lamont’s new budget takes aim at vaping

“Energy and Commerce Chairman Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) and Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee Chair Diana DeGette (D-CO) announced that next week’s Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee hearing will be held on Wednesday, February 5, at 10:30 am in the John D. Dingell Room, 2123 Rayburn House Office Building. The hearing is entitled, “Vaping in America: E-Cigarette Manufacturers’ Impact on Public Health.” Last week, Pallone and DeGette announced the Subcommittee would hold a hearing with executives from the largest five e-cigarette manufacturers in the United States: Fontem U.S.; Japan Tobacco International, U.S. (Logic); JUUL Labs, Inc.; NJOY, LLC; and Reynolds American Inc.”

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E&C OVERSIGHT AND INVESTIGATIONS SUBCOMMITTEE ANNOUNCES ADDITIONAL DETAILS FOR HEARING WITH E-CIGARETTE MANUFACTURERS

HEARING LIVE STREAM

HEARING ON “VAPING IN AMERICA: E-CIGARETTE MANUFACTURERS’ IMPACT ON PUBLIC HEALTH”

“The hotly debated Trump administration partial ban on flavored e-cigarettes takes effect at a minute after midnight Thursday.. The partial vape ban will affect most e-cigarettes that use pre-filled pods. These cartridges are designed for one-time use and have been embraced by teens. Sales of fruit-, dessert- and mint- flavored pods will be outlawed; menthol and tobacco flavors will escape prohibition. The e-cigarette market leader, Juul Labs, will not be affected by Thursday’s action because it has already stopped selling flavored pods except for menthol and tobacco. Companies that will be affected include NJOY; R.J. Reynolds Vapor Co., which sells Vuse; Fontem Ventures, which sells Blu; and Japan Tobacco International, which sells Logic. Open-tank systems and thousands of flavored e-liquids not in pod form are not covered by the ban.”

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Flavored e-cigarette pod ban starts Thursday: What it means for vapers

“A lot of these actions are hinging on the so-called “epidemic” the FDA has highlighted over teen e-cig use, as well as the lung illness outbreak last year that resulted in dozens of deaths and thousands of injuries. The problem is that adult usage is getting swept up in the hysteria over teen use, and the health issues were almost entirely related to illicit vape products mostly bought on the internet. Policymakers are now willing to ban commercially tested products — and that will lead to the purchase of more black market products. It will also crush the movement away from cigarettes. If other states follow California’s or Massachusetts’ lead, the opportunity to wean smokers off of cigarettes will be greatly diminished.”

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Juul Won’t Be the Only One Hurt By a Ban on Flavored Tobacco Products

“Another Bay Area city is pushing a ban on e-cigarettes and vaping products. Cupertino city leaders will hear public comments on the proposal at Tuesday night’s City Council meeting. The Cupertino City Council meets at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at Cupertino Community Hall, 10350 Torre Ave.”

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Cupertino Considers Ban on E-Cigarettes, Vaping Products

“A Senate committee Monday approved a proposal that seeks to let local governments decide if they want to ban smoking at their public parks. The state, rather than local governments, generally controls tobacco-related laws and regulations. Under constitutional amendments passed in 2002 and 2018, smoking tobacco and vaping are banned in enclosed indoor workplaces throughout the state. The 2018 amendment also allows local governments to adopt more-restrictive ordinances on vaping, which could include banning the use of electronic cigarettes in public parks. A House version of Debbie Mayfield, R-Rockledge, bill (HB 457) has not been heard in committees.”

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Florida Senators back stamping-out smoking in parks