“If President Trump doesn’t
change this fl avour ban, he’s
going to kick himself right out
of the next election.”
back pocket of Big Tobacco’ and now Big Tobacco is telling them
how to deal with vaping regulations. A limit on nicotine levels
might be a more sensible approach than a flavour ban, he says,
but that would be disastrous for JUUL who are now part-owned
by Altria.
Meanwhile, states are cracking down on convenience store sales
just months before the PMTA compliance deadline that looms
large over the industry. Unlike the independent vape industry, Big
Tobacco brands have the capital to pay the millions of dollars
required to secure market authorisation for individual products
and formulations.
“Getting by the favour ban would be one thing but to get by the
PMTAs is another altogether. They’ve already estimated that it’s
going to put out about 90 percent of the big companies.”
Keith is already seeing vape businesses take the hit from this
multi-pronged attack on the industry. Businesses are being forced
to turn to international markets already saturated with products or
shut up shop altogether.
“It’s been a real sad two weeks in America,” he said.
“You have all these American businesses supporting their workers.
We’ve already had to let some go but thank God we were able to
find them another job.
“It’s just really something that should not be occurring right now.”
But he’s most concerned about the millions of people who rely on
vaping to stay free from tobacco, with headlines and political point-
scoring further scaring people off from less-harmful products.
“This is like us blaming Tylenol for the opioid or heroin epidemic.
They did this to shrink us down.”
On September 18, Keith rallied in front of the White House where
the VTA was due to meet Trump staff members, but the meeting
was cancelled. Within an hour of the scheduled meeting, the news
broke that Mitt Romney had introduced a bill to ban flavours.
If the current administration continues to ignore their vaping
constituents, Keith believes they may be punished by the countless
one-issue voters whose right to vape is being taken away. He cites
a recent article in the Washington Examiner, which explored the
potential implications.
Journalist Paul Blair noted that in 2016, Trump won Michigan
by fewer than 11,000 votes in a state with over 400,000 adult
vapers, around 113,000 votes in Florida where there are more than
900,000 vapers and Wisconsin by under 23,000 votes where there
are 260,000 adult vapers. If vapers come out in force, it could
seriously swing the outcome of the Electoral College.
Keith suspects that the Democrats may be playing the flavour ban
to their advantage ahead of 2020.
“Right now, the states that are pushing right after he announced a
proposed flavour ban are the Democratic states. They’re doing it
intentionally because now to us Republicans, it looks like he sided
with the Democrats.”
While the White House experience left him frustrated, Keith is
determined to carry on fi ghting and remains a champion of advocacy
groups like the Florida Smoke Free Association and the VTA.
“They raised over a million dollars in DC and we’re fighting, which
is nothing compared to Big Tobacco, but it’s a start.”
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