Robert BarnesOn Wednesday, 1st June 2022, the Los Angeles City Council passed an ordinance to prohibit the sale of candy-flavored nicotine products. This will prohibit the sale of flavored nicotine products in the LA city area.
The ban includes all flavored nicotine products, with the exception of hookah. This came as a result of a successful lobby attempt by hookah business owners on the grounds of Middle Eastern cultural heritage and tradition.
Should Mayor Eric Garcetti sign the bill, the law will come into effect at the beginning of January 2023.
As with nearly all flavor bans, underage vaping was cited as the reason for the ban. Councilman Mitch O’Farrell stated that under the new law, tobacco companies “can no longer use candy-flavors like peach gummy or minty-menthol to lure our kids into trying nicotine, a highly addictive substance that harms brain development and leads to a lifetime of health issues and a shorter lifespan.”
The Rising Popularity of Flavor Bans
LA now joins the ranks of some of the other largest cities that have implemented flavor bans in the United States. Both New York State and Chicago had flavor bans come into the legislature in 2020.
Within the state, LA is also amongst the other 130 Californian municipalities that have imposed either flavor bans or flavor restrictions at the very least.
Statewide flavor bans have been approved since 2020, but as a result of the contest from big tobacco companies, it was put on hold.
Single-Use Tobacco Product Ban
California is also facing another ban that could heavily affect the vaping marketplace. Assembly Bill 1690 would prohibit the use of any single-use tobacco products, including single-use vapes. It would also include disposable vape pods.
“This bill would prohibit a person or entity from selling, giving, or furnishing to another person of any age in this state a cigarette utilizing a single-use filter made of any material, an attachable and single-use plastic device meant to facilitate manual manipulation or filtration of a tobacco product, or a single-use electronic cigarette or vaporizer device,” the bill states.
Penalties for anyone in breach of the potential law include fines of up to $500.
This bill is targeting the environmental damage single-use products cause, particularly cigarette filters.
Interestingly, the banning of single-use vapes like the immensely popular Elf Bar and Geek Bar could possibly play a more substantial role in preventing underage people to try vaping as these are typically the preference of this demographic.
In Summary
Los Angeles will likely join many of the other largest cities that have implemented flavor bans in the United States at the beginning of 2023. The ban will be focused on all flavored tobacco products, including vapes and menthol cigarettes. In a typical fashion, the reasoning for the incoming ban is to prevent underage nicotine addiction.
A secondary bill is also looming which could cause grief to vapers. Assembly Bill 1690 will prohibit all single-use tobacco products, including disposable vape products. This could hurt many consumers as single-use vapes continue to trend in popularity.
Versed Vaper Team
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