It's so incredibly obvious that that would happen that I sincerely believe that that's part of the intent.
Not to mention that all of this noise about flavored vape juice being some sort of underhanded scheme to rope in kids is one of the most ridiculously dumbass things that I've ever seen gibbering idiots apparently sincerely claim to believe. Well - this side of Qanon at least...
When I started vaping, premixed juice was the exception rather than the rule. So what you generally bought was nicotine extract, propylene glycol and/or vegetable glycerin, AND FLAVORING. Flavoring it was the standard literally from day one.
Nicotine juice is flavored and has been flavored all along for two very simple reasons: first and foremost because on its own, it tastes like crap, and second because everybody - not just kids but EVERYBODY - likes for things to taste good.
Agreed, I am a non smoker and would hit my friends blends every now and then. Ended up using virgin juice for a while. It’s fun to take a few puffs and put it down. Lasts me forever too since I was not using it very often
I didn't know that, but I'm cynically unsurprised.
A curious fact adjacent to that:
The US tobacco settlement is still ongoing. Each year, tobacco companies have to pay a particular amount of money to state governments, nominally to help offset the societal costs of smoking.
The total amount of the payments made to a specific state in a specific year depends on the number of cigarettes sold in that state the previous year. Not tobacco products in general, but cigarettes specifically.
Look like a hardened character from the favorite tv show and rebel against their parents or consider years of evidence. Which one is a kid more likely to do on a whim?
I think banning TV show smoking was a bad idea, I think we should allow it but as long as that character dies of lung cancer just like the kids that get encouraged by this shit will.
True, I tend to forget i’m more of the exception than the norm. I don’t just do things at the drop of a hat, especially if it costs a lot of money or could have long-standing repercussions, and I never would have rebelled against my parents. I don’t know how the people that do these things get by from day-to-day, it’s gotta be tough!
Vaping has been under attack since day one. If you put the legwork and trace every law made that targets vaping, the “Yay”s voting are all lobbied by… you got it. Big Tobacco Companies. Philip Morris, British American, etc etc.
I’m all for regulation, but this is made intentional. I won’t be surprised if Big Tobacco are rubbing their greedy little hands that the next wave nicotine hooked people are now their customers.
Once you start seeing the huge financial incentives to keeping people smoking cigarettes specifically, you can't unsee it. From tobacco companies, sure, but also from state governments. State governments get a large amount of revenue from cigarette smokers. And for many of the more financially mismanaged ones, that revenue pays off debts that would otherwise leave them insolvent.
Article from 2008. It wasn't just mortgages that were being "securitized", Wall Street managed to sell state governments on securitizing their payouts from the tobacco company Master Settlement Agreement. States sold those payments to Wall St for pennies on the dollar to get a quick infusion of cash, and now they owe and they can only keep paying if people keep smoking cigs.
So you get an unholy alliance between tobacco companies (who yes, own a lot of vape brands but see higher margins from traditional cigarettes) and state governments. Throw in the stupid parents having a moral panic, and the conclusion is obvious: ban vapes, leave cigarettes.
But I think everyone here's belief that it was intended for kids to go and buy tobacco products are wrong. All of the major tobacco companies have their hands in the vape market as well. Juul for example is owned by Altria which owns the Marlboro brand. They're called vice stocks for a reason.
I think that this is just a case where well meaning (I hope) busybodies refused to take basic psychology into account.
Juul is the poster child always. Give another example. Anyone that vapes knows who the “Major” players are in the vape world - and those are the ones that consistently produce good flavours.
Big Tobacco wants to push their shit IQOS devices. Or straight up regular cigarettes. Vaping is like 0.001% of their assets.
Well, Altria also has a stake in NJOY and I think at one point had a stake in BLU. All of which I’ve found at pretty much every gas station I’ve been to in the US. The only reason I’m picking on Altria is that I’m both a customer as well as a stock holder and am somewhat familiar with them as a result.
Most of the brands I’ve seen in vape shops however seem to be out of Shenzhen, China and I haven’t been able to find out much about them.
I don't really understand the comments here. This is not about vaping being banned, just the flavored variant (which I do have several issues with).
Why would people not just switch to unflavored vaping instead of smoking? The article notes the ban doesn't seem to affect older vapers, which makes sense, as the flavored ones are tailored towards younger consumers, which is my main issue. They vape flavorless instead or have been doing it anyways. But why, if your strawberry cheesecake nicotine hit is no longer available, would you not switch to flavorless but instead to a taste that might be straight from the garbage?
All vaping products are flavored in some way. A tobacco flavored vape would not be banned under this, but it is still flavored. As to why people move to cigarettes, in my experience not-so-popular flavors are not easy to find and cigarettes are everywhere. Also the second cigarette tastes way different than the fist.
I'm sorry but this comment is just very misinformed.
Why would people not just switch to unflavored vaping instead of smoking? [...] Would you not switch to flavorless?
Because there is no such thing as "unflavored vaping". Just forced flavors.
the flavored ones are tailored towards younger consumers
Also just untrue. I'm an ex smoker, but just can't stand tobacco flavored liquids, or menthol ones. Some vapers like those, others prefer fruits and cakes. And if you're already vaping, why wouldn't you choose what you like best? Especially considering the alternative is cigarettes.
But why, if your strawberry cheesecake nicotine hit is no longer available, would you not switch to flavorless but instead to a taste that might be straight from the garbage
I quit smoking about a decade ago. But I gotta say, I loved the smell and taste of cigarettes from the very first time I tried one, and I was very solidly an adult when I had my first. Some people are just wired to like it.
You are a moron, if you put anything in your lungs, different from air.
On that note, you are a moron if you think vaping is as deadly as conventional smoking.
For some of us, e.g. me, vaping made me stop a 20 year habit of 2 packs a day. So what are my options when vaping is banned? What are the options for other people who are looking for a way to stop smoking?