Detroit News: Flavored tobacco ban treats adults like kids

[LoveVanilla]

Flavored tobacco ban treats adults like kids

...tobacco is legal, just as alcohol, lotteries, casino gambling and, increasingly, even marijuana are legal — if you are 21 or over. As a society, we let adults make adult-like choices about things that have downsides, but restrict kids from these options. A federal ban on all flavored tobacco presumes to treat adults like kids.

Prohibition, which ended 87 years ago, remains a primer on how to lose tax money and create crime but not change behavior. A ban on flavored traditional tobacco products will require more law enforcement, but with less revenue from excise taxes, many already cash-strapped communities will have to divert resources away from other public safety activities or raise new taxes. And do not assume selling flavored smokes or dip on the black market would be a petty, isolated crime. A government report notes that the low-risk and high-reward nature of such activity makes it a popular way to raise and launder cash for other criminal endeavors, including terrorism and human trafficking.

If the goal is to protect kids, the legislation is unnecessary. Raising the legal age for buying tobacco to 21 is working. If the goal is to protect adults and benefit society more broadly, the bill would go in the opposite direction. Congress has better things to do.

 

[CarolT]

He's a hypocrite. He applauds raising the age to 21, which is an even bigger example of treating adults like children.

 

[LoveVanilla]

Don't disagree. In my view, I think this was a case of throwing 18-21 year olds under the bus to placate the turds at Tobacco Free Kids, ALA, and AHA.

 

[Beamslider]

Could be worse....SF as of the end of Jan banned anything not reviewed and approved by the FDA that contains Nicotine. Basically seems they want to return everyone to smoking. Must be those taxes they aren't getting. This includes online delivery, but seems they can't really enforce the online ban.

You can still go to Daly City or Oakland and buy whatever you want. So what's the point?

Are These the Last Vape Shops in San Francisco? - CityLab

Glad I make my own ejuice and don't need to deal with this

 

[sofarsogood]

Glad I make my own ejuice and don't need to deal with this

4 years ago I would have predicted most of the vape speciality shops would be gone and most vapers would be mixing and the newbies would be switching at tobacco shops that sell vape and tobacco products. I was wrong.

I'm wondering if the coronavirus panic will calm down the ecig panic and may be there will be a bit more rational thinking.