The oldest trick in the anti-vaping playbook is adding a flavor ban or vape tax into a must pass budget bill. While the vaping industry works to combat the misinformation surrounding a wave PMTA Registry Bills, Rhode Island politicians chose to go with this classic. Click on this CASAA Call to Action for more information. 

Please take a moment to send a message to your Rhode Island Representative urging them to oppose H 7225, Article 6, Section 16.

H.7225, Article 6, Sections 16-20 is scheduled for a hearing on

• Tuesday, March 12, 2024
• Time: Rise of the Senate (approximately 4:30 PM)
• Senate Finance Committee
• State House, Room 211
• Rhode Island advocates are encouraged to submit written comments on this proposal by sending you comments in an email to SenateFinance@rilegislature.gov. Testimony must be submitted by 3:30PM on March 12.

A provision in a must-pass budget bill (H 7225) in Rhode Island would tax vapor products at an outrageous 80% of wholesale price. This provision would also codify the Rhode Island Health Department’s ban on flavored products. An FDA funded study found cigarette sales increase in areas with flavor bans.

While increasing taxes on cigarettes are shown to have an effect on people quitting smoking, raising taxes on safer products like vaping are known to discourage people from making the switch. 

You can also visit the Vapor Technology Association Action Center and their Rhode Island Call to Action. From here it is easy to make your voice and concerns heard. 

The price difference between independent vape industry products and those made by Big Tobacco is staggering. It costs over $200 to vape 30ml of e-liquid from a Vuse Alto. For Juul users, that cost increases to nearly $350 per 30ml.

A Lost Mary MT15000 Turbo costs a $63 to vape the same amount of e-liquid. The difference for the average user can equal a car lease or student loan payment. 

This table does not even account for the fact that a legally enforced monopoly will provide the tobacco industry with the freedom to raise prices further. What is the worst that can happen? Profitable cigarettes sold in place of vapes?

A recent FDA study showed that flavor bans increase cigarette sales.

PMTA Registry Bills Nationwide

Youth vaping rates have fallen every year since 2019, and the odds of a national flavor ban that would only benefit the tobacco industry seem more remote than ever. For this reason, anti-vaping laws are arriving at an incredibly rapid clip this year.  

Consumer freedom, choice and your pocketbook will take a huge hit if the Rhode Island Vape Sales Ban is to pass.