The Attorney General of Massachusetts, Maura Healey, joined the growing number of elected officials to call for taxing e-cigarettes and banning flavored vaping products on Wednesday, the same day House leaders said they needed more time to consider whether to tax electronic smoking products or take additional steps to curb vaping by teenagers.

Healey, in a speech to business leaders at Bank of America in Boston, said her efforts to go after vaping companies for marketing and selling nicotine products to minors can only accomplish so much to curb youth smoking.

Healey's speech to the New England Council came hours before House leaders unveiled a annual budget plan that did not include Gov. Charlie Baker's proposal to raise $6 million in new revenues by taxing e-cigarettes and applying a 40 percent excise tax on wholesale vapor products.

Healey has moved aggressively over the past year to crack down on the marketing of electronic vaping products to minors, launching an investigation last summer of Juul, the largest vaping company in the country, to determine whether it intentionally markets to minors and whether it tracks underage use of its products.

The attorney general has also sent cease-and-desist letters to online e-cigarette retailers like the California-based Kilo E-Liquids that state investigators determined to be selling products into Massachusetts without verifying the ages of buyers.

Users of nicotine and tobacco products must be 21 year old to purchase in Massachusetts.

"Just because something is legal for adults doesn't means that it's safe and that's part of the message we have to really drive home here," Healey told business leaders on Wednesday. "Nicotine and these products are highly addictive and they're not good for developing lungs, minds and brains."

Healey said she's heard from superintendents, teachers, parents and students about the pervasiveness of vaping in schools. One student, she said, told her about receiving a pop-up ad on her phone for vaping products while using an app designed to help her with algebra homework.

The push to tax electronic cigarettes and ban flavored vaping products has appeared to gain momentum on Beacon Hill this year after the Legislature last session passed the law raising the statewide age to purchase tobacco and nicotine products to 21.

"There is no excise tax on e-cigarettes and it doesn't make sense that we don't treat it the same way as cigarettes, cigars and other tobacco products," Decker said.

So call for all vaping customers in Massachusetts is to have your voices heard. Reach out to your local representatives and express your feelings for vaping and it's positive impact on your health and life.

On March 13, 2019, FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, M.D. provided the following statement regarding additional guidelines for tobacco products.

The FDA is proposing to end current compliance policy as it applies to flavored electronic nicotine delivery system (ENDS) products such as electronic cigarettes (other than tobacco-, mint-, and menthol-flavored products), and prioritize enforcement of such products offered for sale in ways that pose a greater risk for minors to access these tobacco products.

Additionally, the FDA expects manufacturers of all flavored ENDS products (other than tobacco-, mint-, and menthol-flavored) that remain on the market under these new conditions to submit premarket applications to the agency by August 8, 2021. This application date is one year earlier than the agency previously proposed.

There are many aspects of these policies outlined in a draft compliance policy published today, which we intend to review comments on and finalize as quickly as possible. We expect several things to happen because of these policy changes:

We expect that some flavored e-cigarette products will no longer be sold at all.
We expect that other flavored e-cigarette products that continue to be sold will be sold only in a manner that prevents youth access, while premarket authorization for these products is sought from the FDA by 2021.

We expect some flavored cigars will no longer be sold.

Specifically, today, with the strong support of the Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex M. Azar, and President Donald J. Trump, the FDA is proposing to end our current compliance policy as it applies to flavored electronic nicotine delivery system (ENDS) products (other than tobacco-, mint-, and menthol-flavored). Previously, for all ENDS products on the market as of August 8, 2016, the FDA had announced our intention not to enforce the premarket review requirements until August 2022, with the expectation that many such products would remain on the market. In addition, under this previous policy, we intended to continue deferring enforcement while an ENDS product’s application was pending review.

Even though these comments do not define the regulations that will be enforced it does shed light on radical changes that will be coming to flavored e-liquid products. We'd expect to hear in the months ahead what specific actions the FDA will be taking to regulate flavored e-liquid products. It will certainly limit the access of products to our customers and millions of customers in the United States.

San Francisco, like many cities in America, has picked its enemies by it's own public policy. It's recent ban on smoking throughout the city has bypassed sales on cannabis, alcohol and many other "sin" drugs. Why you'd ask the city has targeted these particular products is anyways guess. One thing is sure, relationships and connections are probably at the center of the decisions that don't necessarily make practical sense.

One of the largest vaping companies in the world, Juul, is based in Silicon Valley. The city attorney and a member of the Board of Supervisors have proposed to bar e-cigarette firms from renting city property and, more sweepingly, block the sale of e-cigarettes in the city.

The stated rationale, of course, is a concern for public health. After all, vaping companies prey on a young audience with candy-flavored offerings and a hip, streamlined device. For other users, e-cigarettes are sold as a pathway from the chemical harms of tobacco, though the danger of nicotine addiction remains unknown.

E-cigs are no fad, with the big tobacco company Altria in December buying a 35 percent share of Juul, based on Pier 70, giving the company a value of $38 billion. This city, an ostensible temple of clean living, is home to the leading edge firm in the vaping game — and yet the proposed measures can’t chase it out of town as long as its lease runs.

That annoying reality no doubt is stoking the latest legislation. But the crusade needs a reality check. It’s not as if reasonable steps are not being taken to study vaping and restrict its appeal to youth. The city cracked down on flavored e-cigarettes through a ballot measure last year. The federal Food and Drug Administration is entering the picture with its own limitations aimed at curbing sales.

Vaping is a tempting public villain. Manufacturers should be treated with skepticism about claims that vaping is a benign habit. What vaping doesn’t deserve is a dose of shortsighted demonizing that does little to change the bigger picture of tobacco abuse and other health dangers the city is loath to confront.

City Attorney Dennis Herrera isn’t buying that version. “That’s all bull—,” he told us. He wants to suspend e-cigarette sales immediately. Young vapers can pull end runs around city rules, and assurances from e-cigarette firms about controlled access are worthless, he contends. Also, the FDA has let vaping firms market their products without testing and then given those companies a long deadline to conform. That’s why he’s demanding a sales suspension.

But he and Supervisor Shamann Walton, who is sponsoring the crackdown, are sidestepping the larger issue: smoking itself. Cigarette sales are still legal. Roll your own unfiltered joint, smoke a cigar, light a pipe or fire up a cigarette. You can do it all in San Francisco, now and in the future if the featured proposals are enacted. Vaping is only one corner of a vast, dirty habit.

There’s no love here for e-cigarettes. Inhaling potential toxins in any form is a clear health danger. But this crusade offers no cure beyond symbolism. Juul won’t be ousted from its perch on Pier 70. If it left, it could continue its work in another city. Tobacco and marijuana will remain on the shelves.

Reprinted from FDA.gov Press Announcement:

"When we first announced our comprehensive plan for tobacco and nicotine regulation in July 2017, we outlined a framework to better protect kids and to significantly reduce tobacco-related disease and death. We are continuing to implement that framework today. It remains the blueprint for the agency’s tobacco-related policymaking.

This framework first and foremost includes actions aimed at ultimately bringing us closer to our vision of a world where combustible cigarettes no longer create or sustain addiction – making it harder for future generations to become addicted in the first place and allowing more currently addicted smokers to quit or transition to potentially less harmful products.

This plan puts nicotine at the center of our regulatory efforts. It seeks to regulate nicotine levels in combustible cigarettes to render them minimally or non-addictive. At the same time, we’re advancing new policies to encourage the development of products that can deliver nicotine to currently addicted adult smokers without all of the harmful effects of combustion, including novel forms of medicinal nicotine replacement therapy.

With the significant strides made in recent years to reduce conventional smoking among both youth and adults, we appeared poised to overcome one of the most pernicious public health challenges of our times – the death and disease caused by cigarette smoking. Our multi-year policy framework will continue to accelerate these declines in tobacco use.

However, it has become clear that a recent surge in e-cigarette use among youth, which had appeared to be leveling off at the time our comprehensive plan was first announced in July 2017, is threatening the progress we’ve made in reducing youth tobacco use. The most recent data show more than 3.6 million middle and high school students across the country were current (past 30 day) e-cigarette users in 2018. This is a dramatic increase of 1.5 million children since the previous year. The data also showed that youth who used e-cigarettes also were using them more frequently and they were using flavored e-cigarette products more often than in 2017. This is particularly troubling given that research shows that kids using e-cigarettes are more likely to take up combustible cigarettes.

The epidemic-level rise in youth e-cigarette use has prompted a series of escalating actions by the FDA in both enforcement and public education. It has also required us to take a critical look at our policies and regulatory priorities.

Evidence shows that youth are especially attracted to flavored e-cigarette products, and that minors are able to access these products from both brick-and-mortar retailers, as well as online, despite federal restrictions on sales to anyone under 18. We also continue to be concerned about cigar use among youth – flavored cigars in particular – which our enforcement work shows are also being illegally sold to minors. With these concerns in mind, today, we’re advancing our policies aimed at preventing youth access to, and appeal of, flavored e-cigarettes and cigars.

There are many aspects of these policies outlined in a draft compliance policy published today, which we intend to review comments on and finalize as quickly as possible. We expect several things to happen because of these policy changes:

We expect that some flavored e-cigarette products will no longer be sold at all.
We expect that other flavored e-cigarette products that continue to be sold will be sold only in a manner that prevents youth access, while premarket authorization for these products is sought from the FDA by 2021.
We expect some flavored cigars will no longer be sold.
Specifically, today, with the strong support of the Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex M. Azar, and President Donald J. Trump, the FDA is proposing to end our current compliance policy as it applies to flavored electronic nicotine delivery system (ENDS) products (other than tobacco-, mint-, and menthol-flavored). Previously, for all ENDS products on the market as of Aug. 8, 2016, the FDA had announced our intention not to enforce the premarket review requirements until August 2022, with the expectation that many such products would remain on the market. In addition, under this previous policy, we intended to continue deferring enforcement while an ENDS product’s application was pending review.

Under the proposed policy announced today, we’re putting all manufacturers and retailers on notice: you may be subject to FDA enforcement for selling certain flavored ENDS products without authorization.

We’ll prioritize enforcement to prevent the access and appeal of these products to kids.

I’m taking this step to prevent youth access and address youth appeal of flavored ENDS. But because I believe that ENDS products still hold promise to help transition currently addicted adult smokers to potentially less harmful sources of nicotine, the FDA intends to prioritize its enforcement to focus on protecting youth from becoming addicted to nicotine.

We’re proposing to prioritize enforcement of flavored ENDS products (other than tobacco-, mint-, and menthol-flavored) that are offered for sale in ways that pose a greater risk for minors to access the products. For instance, we’ll consider whether the products are sold under circumstances, whether at retail or online, without heightened age verification.

Our proposed policy provides examples of circumstances that we’ll consider – for example, if flavored ENDS products are sold in locations where minors can enter at any time (e.g., the entire establishment or an area within the establishment); or, for online sales, if the products are sold without an appropriate limit on the quantity that a customer may purchase within a given period of time, and without independent, third-party, age- and identity-verification services that compare customer information against third-party data sources, such as public records. We’re also specifically seeking comment on, among other things, whether there are new technologies that can help prevent youth access at retail locations and intend to consider the use of those tools when we finalize the guidance.

Today’s draft guidance states our expectation that manufacturers of all flavored ENDS products (other than tobacco-, mint-, and menthol-flavored) that remain on the market under circumstances to limit youth access and appeal also submit their premarket applications by Aug. 8, 2021. This is an important change in our expectations and enforcement priorities. For all flavored ENDS products, including any that continue to be offered for sale under circumstances involving heightened age verification, the FDA expects manufacturers to prepare and submit applications that demonstrate these products meet the public health standard by Aug. 8, 2021.

In addition, we’re proposing to prioritize enforcement of unauthorized ENDS products that are targeted to minors or likely to promote use of ENDS by minors. Any efforts that entice minors to use tobacco products are of particular concern to the FDA. For example, the agency has already issued warning letters for products that resemble kid-friendly foods and drinks or that resemble other non-ENDS products that are often consumed by youth. Manufacturers and retailers are on notice that we’ll continue to be vigilant about efforts to make tobacco products that appeal to kids.

At this time, we aren’t proposing to end our current compliance policy as it applies to tobacco-, mint-, and menthol-flavored ENDS products, except for those products that are targeted to minors or likely to promote use of ENDS by minors. This approach reflects a careful balancing of public health considerations.

Recent evidence indicates that mint- and menthol-flavored ENDS products are preferred more by adults than minors. We’re also aware that some adults may be using mint- and menthol-flavored ENDS products with the goal of ceasing combusted tobacco use, seeking health benefits at the individual level, and may be at risk of migrating back to cigarettes. We won’t ignore data regarding the popularity of mint- and menthol-flavored ENDS among kids, should the concern rise. We’ll continue to use all available resources to monitor the rates and use patterns among youth and adults for these products, and we’ll reconsider our policies with respect to these products, if appropriate.

We’re also continuing our efforts aimed at enforcement and education.

This summer, we’ll unveil the first television advertisement aimed at educating children about the risks of e-cigarettes. I call on others who are committed to these same goals to also consider stepping up their efforts aimed at educating children of the risks of tobacco products generally, and e-cigarettes specifically. E-cigarette use among kids has become so widespread, so pervasive, and so troubling, that we risk addicting an entire generation of children on nicotine and watching the dramatic gains we’ve made in reducing smoking rates be erased. If current trends regarding youth use of ENDS products persist, the agency will change our approach. These increases in youth use must stop. We cannot allow a generation of children to become addicted to nicotine through e-cigarettes. If the 2019 National Youth Tobacco Survey continues to show sharp increases in youth use of tobacco products, the FDA will consider additional measures to address this crisis. We’ll take all appropriate actions necessary to stop these rates from increasing.

Additionally, we’re also taking steps to address youth use of flavored cigars. Recent data show that nearly 1.3 million middle and high school students across the country were current (past 30 day) cigar users in 2018. Youth continue to use these dangerous combusted tobacco products due, in part, to the availability and appeal of fruit and other flavors. And research shows that, compared to adults (25 or older) who smoke cigars, a higher proportion of youth use flavored cigars. These data also indicate that eliminating flavors from cigars would likely help prevent cigar initiation by young people. Flavors are added to cigars and other tobacco products for various reasons, such as reducing the harshness, bitterness and astringency of tobacco products during inhalation and to soothe irritation during use.

Under the revised compliance policy, 30 days after the guidance is finalized, any flavored cigars (other than tobacco-flavored) that were on the market on Aug. 8, 2016, and that meet the definition of a new tobacco product, would be subject to enforcement. As a result, flavored cigar products that are not grandfathered tobacco products and lack marketing authorization would no longer be subject to the August 2017 Compliance Policy. The FDA would prioritize enforcement of such products if they did not come off the market 30 days after the final guidance. They would have to seek premarket authorization to be re-introduced to the market. Additionally, we’re moving forward with a proposed rule to ban all characterizing flavors in cigars.

The FDA will continue to use our enforcement tools to ensure manufacturers comply with the law. We’ll continue to hold retailers accountable for illegally selling tobacco products to minors. Manufacturers have the means to control the distribution and sale of their products to retail customers by, for example, including or requiring terms, conditions, or controls in their contracts with downstream distributors (wholesalers, distributors, importers and/or retailers) to prevent youth access. Therefore, we’ll be looking to manufacturers of flavored ENDS and cigars to comply with the requirements of the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act and regulations and prevent the sale of their products to minors.

Ultimately, we expect these steps designed to address flavors and protect youth will dramatically limit the ability of kids to access tobacco products we know are both appealing and addicting. Our proposal reflects a very careful public health balance between closing the on-ramp for kids to become addicted to nicotine through tobacco products, while allowing for the promise of an off-ramp for adult smokers through access to potentially less harmful forms of nicotine delivery.

We intend to review comments and implement the policies 30 days after the guidance is finalized. However, we’re hopeful manufacturers and retailers will begin taking voluntary steps to further curb youth access to and appeal of these products. As we’ve said before, responsible manufacturers certainly don’t need to wait for the FDA to finalize policies to act. They can immediately stop certain marketing and sales practices – the ones we believe contribute to the problem of youth access and youth appeal. Likewise, manufacturers need not wait to submit premarket tobacco product applications for ENDS products, flavored or otherwise.

In 2017, when the agency extended certain compliance deadlines for newly deemed tobacco products, we recognized that, to promote higher quality applications, we could provide greater transparency about our recommendations and requirements through guidance and rulemaking. We had already published some resources to aid industry application submission. For instance, the FDA has published the Premarket Tobacco Product Applications for Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDS) draft guidance; we’ve published the Tobacco Product Master File Guidance and a Small Entity Compliance Guide for Deeming; and we’ve conducted educational webinars describing, among other things, the statutory requirements for premarket applications. We continue to develop proposed rulemaking regarding the requirements for premarket submissions. Manufacturers, however, need not wait to engage the agency. Our door is open, and we welcome discussions with ENDS products manufacturers about their preparation of premarket submissions.

Our pledge to reduce youth use of e-cigarettes is deeply rooted and has broad support within the Trump Administration. Nobody wants to see children becoming addicted to nicotine. Our dedication to this effort will endure and our commitment to advancing our comprehensive framework will continue. Our policies have been announced and advanced through a careful and deliberate process that involved the formulation of a broad consensus among those whose efforts are needed in making sure that these rules and guidelines come to fruition. We won’t tolerate a whole generation of kids becoming addicted to nicotine as a tradeoff for enabling adults to have unfettered access to these same unreviewed products, and we’ll continue to put the full scope of our regulatory tools against this mounting public health crisis.

The FDA, an agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, protects the public health by assuring the safety, effectiveness, and security of human and veterinary drugs, vaccines and other biological products for human use, and medical devices. The agency also is responsible for the safety and security of our nation’s food supply, cosmetics, dietary supplements, products that give off electronic radiation, and for regulating tobacco products."

With all the news in the media right now regarding vaping one would think nothing positive was going to come the direction of the industry. You've got infighting with companies and Juul, the biggest player in the vaping space now, over copyrights and market share. We've got companies continuing to market to young adults and much more that captures the headlines. However, the most recent trend is making waves, vaping in wedding photos.

This trend is sweeping the wedding world by storm and as you can imagine their are very passionate responses, both positive and negative, to this trend. And this trend isn't just the Gen-Z adults who are trying to fit in. Even though this is being talked about as a new trend you could have easily found many viral photos years ago with blooming clouds in wedding photos. However, it's catching on right now that even those that don't vape are including vape clouds in their wedding photography.

If you Google "wedding vaping" you'll get dozens of photos of brides and grooms romantically blowing vapor into each other's faces in their bride and groom attire. It's also starting to trend on Twitter with major bloggers posting, "Did you know vaping wedding photos were a real thing?" And a recent Facebook post added, "I just saw on Facebook that vaping wedding photos are a thing." So it's clearly moving from a "trend" to mainstream as the number of photos and tweets continue to increase.

But photos and tweets aren't the only facet of weddings that are being influenced by this vaping trend. There is a whole wedding subculture around vaping, including vaping wedding planners and etiquette guides. There are even ways to decorate your venue with vaping in mind. Wedding planners are helping vape clients incorporate black backdrops in their decor to "show off vapor clouds" in photos. Additionally, other planners are working with clients with their favorite vape flavor and building a theme around that into their wedding planning.

So if you are getting married soon and are a vapor you certainly need to consider some of these new wedding trends because the bar has been raised.

Did you know that there are over two dozen vape studies published on a weekly basis? That’s more than two reports a day!!! The majority of them are on vaping and its impact on the human body. The areas of focus are very broad and can range from health risk studies to nicotine addiction. Many of these studies are published with a political purpose or marketing initiative in tow with lots of money to back up their efforts from scientists and universities alike.

It’s almost without saying that the majority of these studies DO NOT state that vaping is “safe.” Anytime you put chemicals in your body there are risks associated with that. The consensus among these studies is that vaping is safer than smoking traditional cigarettes but still not “safe.” However, the side effects and overall health risks of vaping are debated widely among all these studies.

So, what impact does vaping have on the bodies vital organs like the heart and lungs? There is no long-term vaping research in this area because the industry is just to new to have concluded such studies. Additionally, something that has been challenging for all studies is determining pre-existing conditions since in most vapers cases they were traditional smokers before. Yet there has been one study that took a group of non smokers and tracked them for almost four years as they vaped. The research found that the vital organs of the vapers to the control group were rather similar. So although it cannot be concluded that harm my appear in later stages it does prove short term impacts of vaping could be limited. You can read more of the study at this link.

Over the last several years there have been several studies that have looked at the various scientific methods of those papers that have been published regarding vaping. The following are some of the most popular and widely shared on the topic.

• National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine

Public Health Consequences of E-Cigarettes (2018)

• Health England

E-cigarettes and heated tobacco products: evidence review (2018)

• Royal College of Physicians

Nicotine without smoke: Tobacco harm reduction (2016)

The two British reviews come to more optimistic conclusions than the American one, but all three, conclude that vaping poses far less risk than smoking. Take a look at the articles that are carefully indexed to allow you to search for general topics easier.

According to health experts, parents whose children vape, often don't know what to do or where to turn for help. A growing epidemic, with federal authorities grappling with how to regulate e-cigarettes on a broad scale, parents are scrambling to deal with nicotine dependence or to stop their children from getting hooked to something that seems to be ever-present at schools.

According to a story published, when Sonya Kennedy learned that her 12-year-old son, Ryder, had tried vaping, she was "mortified." However, she soon realised that the trend had far-reaching implications than she earlier realised. Kennedy, the owner of a dance studio in Northern California, found that most of her dancers too had tried vaping and that children were vaping even inside schools, sometimes charging their e-cigs in their teacher's own computers. Parents were oblivious.

A shocked Kennedy knew that she had to do something about it and Kennedy asked a local business to print a few t-shirts with a straightforward message: "Athletes don't vape."

The trend caught on and she started receiving requests from people in Los Angeles, Sacramento and Canada who wanted in on the positive message. She even invited local athletes to a photo shoot and posted the results on social media and they actually showed up on a Sunday morning, to her surprise. According to Meredith Berkman, co-founder of Parents Against Vaping e-cigarettes, the first thing parents can do is educate themselves.

E-cigarettes work by heating a liquid until it turns into vapor. The liquid commonly contains varying concentrations of nicotine, sometimes no nicotine at all. The primary ingredients in most e liquid is propylene glycol and vegetable glycerin, common ingredients found in many food products.

Researchers are worried that e-cigarettes could put children's developing brains at risk, get them hooked on nicotine early in life and be an initiation to smoking and other drugs, albeit no proof has been provided to date to show that e liquid is a gateway drug for minors or adults.

They also recommend that parents be familiar with signs their children might be vaping. If they notice a faint, sweet scent if they show a change in mood, take frequent breaks to puff and share vape-related posts on social media.

According to experts, symptoms that children are vaping include anxiety, distractibility, headaches and stomachaches. Other symptoms may include increased thirst, nosebleeds and mood changes.

Parents too can set an example by not vaping or smoking themselves, says Partnership for Drug-Free Kids. They should also have open conversations with their children, experts add. Understanding why a child may take to vaping is also important.

Pat Aussem, a master addictions counselor with the Parent Coaching Program at the nonprofit Partnership for Drug-Free Kids said parents can also use positive reinforcement to offer their kids something more interesting to them than vaping. However, she adds, it is important to understand that there may be no quick fix.

As we ring in the new year we look to the hottest topics that’ll shape 2019 in the world of vaping. Below are our top five categories of items we believe will impact the industry.

1. Regulations & Taxes
2. Technology
3. Consolidation of the Industry
4. Continued Growth in Users
5. Product Diversification

Regulations and taxes will continue to be the focus around the globe as the FDA in the United States continues to fight “the epidemic of youth vaping” and local cities fight for various flavor bans. We’d also expect governments to continue to look for additional revenue streams from vapor products as they are an easy voter target for more government funding.

Technology again will be at the forefront of the industry with lightning fast innovations coming to closed pod systems, e liquid flavors and nicotine levels etc. We’ll see the focus of products on safety and reliability as those have been struggling points for the industry in the press for many years. Expect to see cross over products within the closed pod systems sector with interchangeable systems that’ll be adaptable to multiply systems.

We’re also expecting to see a ramp up of companies consolidating within the industry. This could mean vape companies themselves will begin to join forces or cross industry consolidation similar to the Juul and Altria partnership. As the industry matures the thousands of vape companies that sprung up over the years will look to consolidate to further grow and expand their offerings.

As with any new industry the vape industry will continue to grow. There will be a huge push into 2019 to convert additional traditional smokers to vaping. This will be a continued trend across the globe as additional research will point to the benefits of vaping over traditional cigarettes.

Lastly, rounding out our top five choices is product diversification. We are already starting to see traditional vaping companies pivot into industries like CBD and hemp. This will continue as vaping companies grow and look to increase their brand loyalty on other similar products. We expect to see some exciting ventures into new product offerings from vapes, CBD and cannabis in those areas where it’s legal.

Although there are many challenges and hurdles yet for the industry to endure we see a bright future for our customers and vapers alike. Welcome to 2019 and have a safe and Happy New Year from the Cali Steam Team.

Just when the industry was hoping for some reprieve things seem to be moving in the wrong direction. When San Francisco voters upheld the city’s ban on flavored vapor and tobacco products in June, supporters of the new law predicted it would spark a prohibition trend, and they were right. More than two dozen California municipalities have enacted some sort of flavored tobacco ban.

Six California state legislators have introduced bills that would ban all retail sales of flavored e-liquid and other vaping products statewide. The bill will also prohibit sales of menthol cigarettes, flavored cigars, cigarillos, pipe tobacco, chewing tobacco, snuff and other tobacco based products.

The law does not exempt vape shops, even though they’re already prohibited from selling to anyone under the age of twenty-one. If passed, it will put every vape shop in California out of business, despite comment from FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb says that vape shop sales to minors are not a serious problem.

The bill also imposes strict rules for online sales, including a requirement for an adult signature at delivery, and the statement “CONTAINS TOBACCO PRODUCTS: SIGNATURE OF PERSON 21 YEARS OF AGE OR OLDER REQUIRED FOR DELIVERY” printed “conspicuously” on the package.

The bill will be introduced by Democratic state Sen. Jerry Hill, and is supported by four other Democratic senators, and Democratic Assembly member Kevin McCarty. Hill, a former assembly member and onetime mayor of San Mateo, represents the 13th Senate District, which includes San Francisco.

California is the country’s most populous state, and it counts on cigarette taxes and Master Settlement Agreement payments (determined by the number of cigarettes sold) to pay for many state programs. The state has increased cigarette taxes substantially, but never gets around to proposing a ban on the deadliest tobacco product.

Politicians are looking for easy wins at the vaping industry to build support in their precincts. Even with the FDA working to develop its own regulations on vapor products many local governments are moving forward with laws of their own. Unfortunately, most people view vapers similarly to smokers, especially in health consciences states like California.

The latest from a statement by FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, M.D., on proposed new steps to protect youth by preventing access to flavored tobacco products and banning menthol in cigarettes.

One of the first things the FDA is looking to ban is to have all flavored ENDS products (other than tobacco, mint and menthol flavors or non-flavored products) sold in age-restricted, in-person locations. All ENDS products, including e-liquids, cartridge-based systems and cigalikes, in flavors except tobacco, mint and menthol, would be included. For instance, the proposed policy would apply to flavors such as cherry, vanilla, crème, tropical, melon and others. So this means any products sold in convenient stores, that permit underage individuals to enter, would not be permitted.

Additionally, the FDA is revisiting the compliance policy on PMTA authorization for such flavored products sold in physical locations where people under the age of 18 are permitted. This could be a detrimental action to vapor products as the process is excessively expensive and many believe with the current laws vapor products won’t be able to pass the high litmus test a PMTA application requires.

Furthermore, the FDA is continuing to look at how they believe ENDS products are marketed towards children. The FDA will pursue the removal from the market of those ENDS products that are marketed to children and/or appealing to youth. This could include using popular children’s cartoon or animated characters, or names of products favored by kids like brands of candy or soda.

Another area that’ll be targeted is those flavored ENDS products (other than tobacco, mint and menthol flavors or non-flavored products) that are sold online. The FDA will seek to curtail the sale of applicable flavored ENDS products that are sold online without heightened age verification processes. The FDA will be working to identify these heightened measures for age verification and other restrictions to prevent youth access via online sales. These best practices would be available soon, so sites can quickly adopt them. Because no tobacco products should be sold to kids (including non-flavored ENDS products or those with tobacco, mint and menthol flavors), the FDA will continue to enforce the law whenever we see online sales of these products to minors and will closely monitor online sales of mint and menthol ENDS products.

So although the measures are broad in what the FDA will continue to enforce we hope for a balanced approach as they continue to regulate the market. We fully support at Cali Steam a fair set of regulations that continue to allow customers to have choices of nicotine containing products.