Clear the air clouding vaping sales in Florida
Over the past several years, a new innovative technology has emerged on store shelves throughout Florida that has sparked both optimism and great controversy. This new product promises to help combat one of the leading causes of preventable death in the United States. At the same time, its exploding popularity has also challenged society’s ability to effectively regulate the market and protect consumers. This innovative new technology is the nicotine vape.
The fact is, vapes are a much less harmful alternative for using nicotine than smoking cigarettes. Scientific research from the most respected institutions has basically put that issue to bed, concluding that smokers who transition from cigarettes to vapes dramatically reduce their exposure to carcinogens and other toxicants. This has led many adult smokers to switch to a less harmful product. Unfortunately, vapes have also become popular among teenagers who always seem to find a way to purchase them illegally.
In its zeal to protect teenagers from nicotine use, government at all levels, pushed by parents groups and health advocates, has clamped down hard on the vapor market. To combat what they feared was a growing teen epidemic of vaping, product restrictions and outright bans on flavored vapes have been passed throughout the country. The problem is, prohibition of a popular adult product never works. Banning a product just drives transactions out of legitimate stores and into the criminal market.
Florida has become our nation’s capital in the sale of illegal vapes. The most popular products among teens in the United States are illegal, disposable vapes in candy and dessert flavors. Despite a federal ban on the import and sale of these products, you can find them in just about every smoke shop in any city in Florida. Unscrupulous Chinese manufacturers work with American accomplices in the supply chain to defy federal and state laws and smuggle hundreds of millions of these products into our country every year.
The flood of illegal disposable vapes into Florida has been so overwhelming, and the enforcement of federal law has been so poor, stores don’t know which products are legal for sale. Law enforcement doesn’t know which products belong on the shelves and which ones are illegal.
Recognizing this thorny problem, the Florida legislature put forth a smart law that helps provide some needed transparency in the market.
HB 1007 requires that a directory of legal products be published so that consumers, retailers, and enforcement all understand what’s permitted for sale. This helps make sure that adult smokers can get access to less harmful alternatives while fighting back against the Chinese criminal market that is preying on our children.
Like everything related to vaping, HB 1007 is controversial. Activist groups who ignore the health benefits of vaping in their crusade to ban all nicotine are fighting against the bill. They are joined by hundreds of vape shops who serve as the sales force for Chinese manufacturers. These shops don’t want a list of legal products published because they want to continue selling illegal vapes.
As an advocate for Hispanic businesses, my chief concern is that Florida fosters a functioning marketplace for adult consumer products. Our policymakers need to ensure that merchants are able to compete on a level playing field and that we provide sufficient enforcement to regulate commerce.
When it comes to vapes, we should ensure that adult smokers have an opportunity to move away from cigarettes while we keep these products away from Florida’s teens.
HB 1007 is common sense policy that helps support public health while fostering transparency and fair competition for Florida’s business community. I encourage Gov. DeSantis to do the right thing and sign this necessary measure into law.
Julio A. Fuentes is President and CEO of the Florida State Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.
The flood of illegal disposable vapes into Florida has been so overwhelming, and the enforcement of federal law has been so poor, stores don’t know which products are legal for sale.