There has been a lot of talk about this in recent weeks and now we know it’s almost a certainty. The FDA is expected to ban the sales of flavored e-juice throughout the country as soon as this week (maybe even today!).
For now, this is only going to happen in convenience stores and gas stations. The ban will only apply to pods or cartridges, so basically, this is targeting Juul products. They do not plan to ban open tank system products.
The FDA also said they will allow mint and menthol flavors since cigarettes also come in menthol and the FDA doesn’t want to give cigarettes an advantage over vaping.
To many of you, this news probably won’t be a problem since you likely buy online or in vape shops, but this is a pretty big deal for the majority of vapers in the country. Hobbyists and hardcore vapers like us are only a small segment of vapers as a whole, but the majority of vapers are non-hobbyists who are vaping to quit smoking. They don’t care about new products on the market. They just want to stop smoking. And now these people will be left without any flavor options.
This could have serious ramifications for people trying to quit. Another important consideration is that there are many towns throughout the country that don’t even have access to vape shops. If they can’t get flavors from vape shops, convenience stores, or gas stations, many of these people might simply go right back to smoking.
My guess is that the FDA is starting with convenience stores and gas stations because that’s where most underage sales happen, either by a sales clerk or an of-age person buying it for a younger person. Even if that’s true, this sets a dangerous precedent for further increasing bans later.
I’m personally against this ban, but what do you think?
