LANSING, MI — Today, the American Vaping Association, a nonprofit that advocates for sensible regulation of vaping products, reacted to press reports that Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer plans to announce an emergency declaration in order to attempt to enact a flavor ban on all vaping products at a press conference to be held this morning. The ban is set to take effect immediately with only a 30-day sell-through period for retailers to sell off product.
Gregory Conley, President of the American Vaping Association, released this statement:
“This shameless attempt at backdoor prohibition will close down several hundred Michigan small businesses and could send tens of thousands of ex-smokers back to deadly combustible cigarettes. These businesses and their customers will not go down without a fight. We look forward to supporting the lawsuits that now appear necessary to protect the right of adults to access these harm reduction products.”
“In this country, laws are made by legislators, not governors desperate for press attention. Anyone who fears the prospect of an out of control government should be appalled by this attempt by the executive branch to unilaterally ban an adult product. Even more absurd, this ban attempt is coming just months after the Michigan Legislature wisely prohibited sales of vaping products to minors.
“Governor Whitmer’s ban will create a massive, multi-million dollar black market for these products, which are the same conditions that led to the recent spate of lung illnesses that are now clearly linked to illegal THC vaping products. The CDC is now specifically warning against vaping homemade vaping products, yet this is the exact kind of behavior that a state-instituted flavor ban will lead to.”
Contrary to the rhetoric of anti-vaping activists, there is a great deal of evidence showing that the importance of flavors to adults looking to quit smoking. Last year, the Harm Reduction Journal published a study by researchers from the Centre for Substance Use Research on the flavor choices of over 20,000 adult vapers. The study found that approximately 83% of the adult vapers surveyed reported using fruit flavors, while just 24% were vaping tobacco flavors. In another study of over 4,500 adult vapers, respondents rated flavor variability as “very important” in their quest to reduce or quit smoking.
Public Health England and the Royal College of Physicians have both estimated vaping to be at least 95% less harmful than smoking.
About the American Vaping Association
The American Vaping Association is a nonprofit organization that advocates for fair and sensible regulation of vapor products, otherwise known as electronic cigarettes, with the goal of maximizing the number of adult smokers who use these products to quit smoking. The AVA was founded by Gregory Conley, a consumer and industry advocate with a long track record of advocating for vapor products dating back to 2010.
We are dedicated to educating the public and government officials about public health benefits offered by vapor products, which are battery-powered devices that heat a liquid nicotine or nicotine-free solution and create an inhalable vapor. The AVA is not a trade group and does not speak for any particular businesses, including our industry sponsors.
You can learn more about AVA and vaping by visiting the AVA website. You can also find us on Facebook and Twitter.
