In California, Juul's problems are only beginning

In recent weeks, vaping and other forms of electronic cigarettes have taken an immense blow as the result of several deaths that have been purportedly linked to vape juice. Though these deaths have not been proven to be linked to vaping, preliminary reports have pointed the finger at vaping as the cause of death. It is thought, however, that the vape juice that the persons in question ingested may not have been from a reputable seller and therefore do not reflect the vaping community as a whole.

Many cities in California have gone so far as to ban flavored vape products while other cities like San Francisco have banned vaping and electronic cigarettes entirely. These bans are a direct result of the current Trump Administration and their efforts to stop vaping and make it illegal across the country. San Francisco is the first of three cities so far that have banned e-cigarettes entirely while over a dozen other cities have banned only flavored vape juice.

The problem? Vaping is nowhere as dangerous as lawmakers would like the public to believe. One of the founding companies that started the electronic cigarette industry, Juul, is striking back having spent more than $4.5 million working to get voters out to overturn the first e-cigarette ban in the nation a the polls in November. It is the fear of the company that if the ban prevails at the polls, it will encourage other cities to start their own bans effectively working to destroy the e-cigarette industry as we know it.

Lawmakers claim that the e-cigarettes are especially harmful to children and that it is the protection of the youth of the city that is pushing the ban through. So where does that leave responsible adults that are looking for a safer alternative to traditional cigarettes? It leaves them out in the cold and Juul has countered with their own argument. Juul claims, and rightly so, that banning e-cigarettes entirely is not going to get rid of them. Rather, it is going to create an illegal market that is going to take away safe options for those that want to give up traditional cigarettes.

Banning something like an electronic cigarette is going to create a market for e-cigarettes that are not highly regulated, it is going to create a market for vaping liquid that is not approved by the FDA and it is going to cut out a large number of safety measures that have been put in place for those that sell electronic cigarettes in regulated shops across the country. While news of new bans keeps on coming, Juul and other electronic cigarette companies are speaking out as a ban on vaping would cause an even bigger backlash.

The FDA is currently working to issue new laws regarding the regulation of flavored e-cigarette liquids and other vaping products. E-cigarette companies have been given 30 days to pull their flavor liquids off the shelves. Proposition C would work to add purchase restrictions on products rather than banning them fully and therefore creating a demand for an illegal market. It is far safer to let the e-cigarette companies create products that are going to be regulated rather than seeking out flavored vape liquid alternatives from less reputable and less safe sources.