President Trump announced plans on Wednesday to finalize an act that will remove all non-tobacco flavored E-cigarettes off the market.

The vaping industry was under the impression that it had a bit more time in the swing of things. It wasn’t until May 2020 that operators would begin requiring applications for any flavored E-liquid. The market would remove certain products until they gained approval from the Food and Drug Administration.

In an effort to lessen the numbers of vape-related illnesses, the FDA will launch this notion into action some eight months early. The ban, which will go into effect within the next few weeks, came as an unforeseen obstacle to fans and founders.

“I said ‘Oh shit, is this for real?'” said Jai Gyorfi, better known as ‘Jai Haze’ on YouTube, upon learning of the e-cigarette ban. Haze owns a vape shop in New Jersey and runs a vape-oriented YouTube channel with nearly 170,000 subscribers. A blindsided Gyorfi then hosted a livestream with 2,000 viewers who were equally as shocked by the news.

The push for e-cigarette flavor bans broadens

When e-cigarettes were first introduced, many people viewed them as a healthier alternative to cigarettes. The FDA embraced e-cigarettes as a less harmful way for adults to satisfy their nicotine addiction. However, skyrocketing reports of minors getting hooked on them called for a reverse action.

This summer’s startling statistics have raised concerns. With possible links to 6 deaths, vaping-related respiratory illnesses have reached over 500 cases in nearly three dozen states.

“We intent to clear the market of flavored e-cigarettes to reverse the deeply concerning epidemic of youth e-cigarette use that is impacting children, families, schools and communities,” Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said. “We will not stand idly by as these products become an on-ramp to combustible cigarettes or nicotine addiction for a generation of youth.”

An entire industry at risk of removal

Since Wednesday’s announcement, many users, including Gyorfi, expressed frustration at Trump’s attempt to remove an entire industry. “It’s a way bigger picture than just, ‘hey, let’s do this, or remove this,’ because then that closes businesses,” Gyorfi said. He isn’t wrong. Only the largest vape shops survived the 2016 Pennsylvania movement to tax e-cigarette products by 40%.

Trump, along with officials in Michigan, claim the goal is to stop teens and children from addiction to certain kid-friendly flavors. Gyorfi and others argue this is far too narrow of a perspective; that punishing everyone as a whole has broad consequences.

“I do believe that the government should ask ‘what’s in these [juices], are these okay to vape, what kind of research do we have.” Rather, Gyorfi hopes the industry can reach a compromise on testing systems, similar to the methods used in cannabis testing. If not, nearly 20 million Americans struggling to quit smoking will be at risk for relapsing into cigarette use.

“I think that’s fair, very fair,” Gyorfi said. “Don’t just strip it from everybody that it’s worked for.”

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Recently there have been changes in tobacco and vaping laws across the country. The Associated Press reported that Virginia will ban people under 21 from buying tobacco products.

At first glance this sounds…a bit unfair. In fact, Republican Senator Amanda Chase voted against the bill because of this reason. When you turn 18, you are legally an adult. You can buy lotto tickets and go to 18+ festivals and clubs. Chances are you will encounter tobacco users (and other substances) there. So, why are states continuing to ban tobacco products for those under 21?

Teenage Vaping “Endemic”

via GIPHY

One of the main reasons is to prevent minors from becoming addicted to nicotine. Many students “of age” have bought vaping products for under age friends, which is why teenage vaping has increased in the past few years. In November of 2018 the FDA announced their proposal to prohibit the sales of flavored nicotine products as well as menthol cigarettes. This has affected companies like JUUL. 

We know about the risks of smoking tobacco. There are a lot. There are risks of various kinds of cancer, tooth decay, and an increase risk of heart attacks and coronary heart disease. Yet many still continue to smoke. Vaping exists to help smokers stop smoking. And it works. The downside is that high schoolers are now vaping at alarming rates. Only now are we beginning to understand the effects on vaping, especially for kids.

Let’s Look at Some Evidence

A report* published in the New England Journal of Medicine found that nicotine affects a developing brain by:

• increasing risk of addiction
• risk of mood disorders
• lowered impulse control
• and cognitive impairment

The report also includes a lot of percentages and data, but we’ll just skip to a basic summary. There’s an association between vaping and violent behavior. These kids (middle and high schoolers) are more likely to use other substances and abuse those substances. We’ve seen the increase of overdoses these past years. Is there more we could be doing to prevent that?

Let’s circle back to Virginia. Senator Amanda Chase has a point. At 18 you are an adult and therefore are free to make your own decisions. When you’re a kid you want to grow and experience that independence. However, we have to take this research into consideration.

Think about your younger siblings, your younger cousins, nephews or nieces. There’s a chance they have tried vaping or are even addicted to vaping. They probably think it’s cool and we’re not trying to sound like parents here, but as adults we should be watching out for them.

In respects to the new Virginia law, we’ll have to wait and see what the domino effects are on middle and high schoolers moving forward.

*Disclaimer: This is a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine:Youth Vaping and Associated Risk Behaviors — A Snapshot of Colorado. A free preview can be viewed here. The entirety of the correspondence, however, requires a paid subscription. 

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The cheeky hour-long podcast covers everything from the plot to vape culture, to the driving points that inspired the show’s genesis. They also get candid and try to explain Brandon Wardell’s character, Cody Clark. Cody Clark is reportedly influenced by the persona of teenage social media star Jacob Sartorius.

The show is enigmatic in a sense because it’s a satire about concepts that are almost satirical in their rawest form. Social media and influencer stardom have gotten to be such a lucrative profession in the current digital age that it has spurred stories and scandals that are more entertaining than real life (see: the Paul brothers’ never-ending sagas).

Those who aren’t familiar with Sartorius or the band of Gen Y and millennial influencers that the show satirizes might have trouble reading between the lines. Nevertheless, the show seems like a worth-while watch and we can definitely expect some laughs with Dillon Francis on board.

“Like and Subscribe” is set to stream on July 9th. Listen to the “Yeah, But Still” podcast below.

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Ever tried to innocently bring your vaping gear into a festival and been turned away or forced to leave your extra juice at the gate? Many festivals, such as HARD Fest, have concerns over people smuggling other illicit substances in these containers disguised as e-juice, and have all together banned the use of vaporizers. This obviously has created a bit of an uproar amongst the more avid vape users, some boycotting the festival, and even going so far as to make a petition to get them to change it.

Earlier this week Electric Daisy Carnival came up with a way to retain the massive number of attendees that love e-cigs. Instead of banning their use, or having some type of ridiculous drug test at the gate, they decided to dedicate an entire village to the vaping community with name brand vendors providing a wide variety of e-juice flavors. Despite this, they are still banning festival-goers from bringing their own refills, so be sure to leave yours at home and bring a bit of extra cash instead.

Details about this “Vape Village” are still relatively unclear, as the festival has only just announced the presence of the e-juice vendors, however the name “Vape Village” does imply that the area will be of some significant size, so as more details are announced we may see lounges and other vape-themed attractions joining the party. If you want to look up vaping shops online, check here.

Here is the announcement from the festival:

Introducing #VapeVillage 🏠💨, welcoming all vapers attending EDC Las Vegas! 🌼🎉 ❗Important Message❗ While refillable vape pens, eGo devices, mods, and APVs will be allowed at EDC Las Vegas, you will not be allowed to bring E-Liquid or E-Juice of any kind into the venue due to festival and security guidelines. 💦 Only EMPTY mods and tanks will be allowed inside, so please make sure to empty all liquid out of your canisters before entering. A selection of premium liquids from a variety of name-brand vendors will be available in our Vape Village, located just outside Carnival Square. 👌✨🎪 #EDC20

A photo posted by Electric Daisy Carnival (@edc_lasvegas) on May 27, 2016 at 5:24pm PDT

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