5 ways Multnomah vape flavor ban hurts everyone … yet a boost to smugglers

By Taxpayers Association of Oregon
OregonWatchdog.com

5 reasons a flavored vaping ban is a destructive, dysfunctional idea with terrible ramifications.

1. Among 61 studies, vaping was shown as one of the best ways people quit smoking. Robert H. Shmerling, MD, Senior Faculty Editor, Harvard Health Publishing, said “…an analysis of 61 studies found that e-cigarette use was more effective than other approaches to quitting smoking…” (Harvard Health Blog 10/28/21). We have witnessed dozens of Oregonians testifying that vaping was the “only” thing that helped them break the smoking habit.

2. It destroys small family businesses at a time when Portland ranks 60 out of 62 cities for business recovery. Some family businesses put their life savings into their shop, only to have it to vanish in a matter of months because of this product ban. An University of California study showed this summer that Portland ranks 60 out of 62 cities for business recovery (Portland Business Journal 8/16/22).   Portland needs to support family small businesses not contribute to their crisis.

3. It loses tax revenue. By destroying local small businesses you destroy the vaping tax revenue that is used to help cover health costs and fund prevention measures. The Tax Foundation states “Across almost all states, tax rate hikes are met with a momentary bump in revenue, followed by a falloff in collections in future years.” (Tax Foundation 5/3/21)

4. It wrecks legal businesses while boosting illegal ones. By destroying local small shops you drive sales to the black market/online markets which often pay no Oregon vaping tax. You create a new market for smugglers and middle-men opportunists who sell it directly to customers. Wiping out the vaping stores, with a hard-hitting vaping flavor ban, hurts the legal guys (shop owners) while rewarding the illegal ones.

5. It makes vaping more dangerous. When you close local shops you move people to use cheaper online vaping products of which many of these online sales are fake-brands and foreign products which are unregulated and more dangerous. Most of the product problems associated with vaping have come from fake brand/foreign products.   To protect the people’s health, it requires the attention to be placed on these over-side health hazards of unregulated vaping products and not the opposite by removing legal, regulated and taxed products out of existence.

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