For years the federal, state, and local governments in the U.S. have been increasing regulations and controls over those using eLiquids to help quit or significantly reduce smoking. For over 12 years vaping has been a major factor in historic lows for smoking across all age groups, with no health problems like those being experienced by youth vaping black market THC cartridges the past couple of months.
As more smokers found success the medical and science communities were conducting studies and discovering vaping is at least 95% safer than smoking. Beyond the studies were the millions of former smokers rediscovering their ability to breath easier, taste and smell normally, and overall regain healthier lifestyles. The facts were clearly favoring vaping eLiquids over smoking cigarettes.
Many former smokers were so moved by finally finding success through vaping they made personal investments by opening mom and pop vape shops to reach more smokers and help them get off the dangerous cigarette addiction that’s proven so hard to beat. These small shops, mostly owner operated and not extremely profitable, are driven by passion. Owners formed associations dedicated to education, safer products, and full support for their customers to help millions quit smoking.
All of this was bad news for the crony-capitalists connected to each other in the tobacco, pharmaceutical and political industries. Something had to be done to stop the onslaught against the profits of these well connected industries. The declining cigarette sales would lower the amount states would receive under the 1998 Master Settlement Agreement, billions of dollars states are hooked on like an addictive drug.
The attacks against vaping started early and the mislabeling of vaping products as tobacco was a major milestone in 2016. It allowed the FDA to take the lead in oversight. There is no tobacco in eLiquids but that did not matter to states like Texas in 2015 or federally a year later. For decades everyone knew it was all the chemicals from the burning tobacco, additives and paper that was causing damage to smokers, 50% of whom die from the addiction after years of sickness first. It was not the nicotine.
Nicotine was not a danger and pharmaceutical companies created nicotine replacement products that gained FDA approval and are still sold widely to anyone at major retailers despite low success rates and many known dangers.
Liquids manufactured for the vaping community sources the same nicotine in the U.S. as used by big pharma. But vaping products hurt profits, so nicotine became the danger in cities and states across the country. It was time to save the children from the terrible monster…nicotine rather than tobacco.
Despite historic lows in youth smoking the rallying cry then shifted to a campaign to ban any flavor but tobacco as any flavor was a temptation youth could not resist. Claims were made all vaping was being marketed to kids in order to hook the next generation on nicotine, flavors now were the culprit.
Flavors are a proven key in the success of smokers who could finally get away from the taste most do not like. Government wisdom says you’re a smoker, so you only need a tobacco flavor, and that was the rallying cry adopted by many. The vaping community fought back with science and facts, but powerful politicians, under influence from the big corporations and non-profits, continued to look for a way to rid the country of flavors, knowing exactly how important variety was to the success of staying off cigarettes.
In 2008, in an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Rahm Emanuel stated, “You never want a serious crisis to go to waste. And what I mean by that [is] it’s an opportunity to do things that you think you could not before.” The crisis finally arrived.
There’s a terrible, black market problem with illegal cartridges filled with high levels of THC and Vitamin E being vaped and causing serious damage to lungs and even deaths. Without missing a beat Sen. Dick Durbin became a leading voice in the need to ban flavors from e-cigarettes immediately.
It worked flawlessly as President Trump and his wife took in all the fake news and embraced the crony-capitalist’s long sought desire. Finally, a federal, nationwide ban on all flavors but tobacco is being rushed into regulatory law. They are simply protecting the children and doing something but are they doing anything about the illegal cartridges or the black market creating and selling them on the streets?
No, they are not. Their aim is far off target to help with the crisis, but they finally are right on target with their goals of keeping smokers smoking, tobacco profits high, settlement payments flowing, and big pharma selling their ineffective, sometimes dangerous products targeting smokers without competition from more effective and safer alternatives.
What they are doing is killing an industry in the U.S. that helped restore life. They are sending thousands to the unemployment lines and driving out of business thousands of small mom and pop vape shops whose only fault was their desire to help smokers get off cigarettes and live healthier lives.
Our government and their chosen winners care nothing for public health, care nothing for our children, and care nothing for common sense solutions to real problems with illegal cartridges being black marketed to kids who are chasing a drug high.
Flavored nicotine liquids are the devil according to our government and their cronies but that is NOT what is currently harming and killing young people. It is all fake news designed to create fear and Trump willingly embraces the fear and news while showing he is no defender of liberty when fake news serves the needs of those he wishes to appease.
Bureaucratic socialism is alive and well under President Trump and the political industrial complex. It is no wonder socialism is so close to finally taking over our once liberty focused federalist republic
