The uphill battle of the Washington quitters continues. That is the essence, after all, when a bill proposing to flagrantly impose a 95% tax on all vaping products is passed and enforced. By the way HB 1645 is garnering support from the Washington State, there is a good chance it will be a law so that Washington quitters have to set their sights somewhere else to get rid of their smoking habits.
As a preemptive move, Mt. Baker Vapor has already decided to discontinue a large number of their flavors; there are more (about 190) in the pipeline that face the same fate.
Washington vapers are wondering is this an ominous sign of things to come for potential quitters and the vaping industry?
What the Bill Serves
A glimpse of the bill: HB 1645 justifies why vaping products need to be taxed heavily. Gov. Jay Inslee of the Washington state is pushing it strongly in his bid to fund the budget for 2016. The proposed bill aims to do the following:
- apply a 95% sales tax on all vapor product devices, components, and liquids;
- ban all online sales to WA residents;
- ban all flavors other than tobacco, mint, wintergreen, and menthol;
- ban sampling in all vape shops
Packaging to sell: To elicit support, the bill has tossed in every piece of negative propaganda out there, despite being incredulous, debatable, or has already been proven otherwise. What the bill writers did was to present the questionable information in a convincing form that is hard to say “NO” to; a total merciless disservice for those needing a smoke cessation device.
Using black propaganda: For instance, the bill claims that vaping is addictive and alarmingly growing in the youth sector; that it is laden with cancer-causing agents notwithstanding it fares insignificantly against tobacco cigarettes; that it is as addictive as heroin posing the hazard of being the gateway to hard addictive substances; and that there are still no study to show it is a safe alternative over time. If all such claims are true, then who would deny the support that HB 1645 deserves.
What happened to “truth”: The sad thing is, these claims are grossly exaggerated and unfounded. The bias is obvious. What happened to those studies that show otherwise? Why weren’t they presented side by side with the negative claims? What happened to those studies that revealed e-cigarettes produce virtually no toxins or that it is now an established effective device to quit smoking? What about the opinions of experts and doctors who are not in the pockets of tobacco companies and openly supporting e-cigarettes?
The Reaction of the Industry
It’s sink or swim: If Mt. Baker Vapor’s flavor cull is to be taken as a sign, it is obvious that the e-cig industry is panicking so that it is resorting to some harsh, pre-emptive decisions to cut back their possible losses. With the possible doubling of prices of the e-liquid and losing the flavors that’s part of the delicious shift, the industry doubts if this bill won’t clip their wings or totally slay them for a long time, if not permanently. If this piece of legislation becomes the norm in the United States and around the world, discontinuing smoking becomes a very expensive and tough proposition. How can anyone make the switch without experiencing a sample to try?
Mt. Baker’s pre-emptive action: Mt. Baker has openly admitted discontinuing a large number of flavors. If HB1645 is truly to become a law, and the “characterizing” flavors are truly to be banned, the reaction is justified. If Mt. Baker, an established and big company enjoying wide patronage, is feeling threatened, imagine how the bill would tatter to pieces smaller e-liquid manufacturers specializing in designer e-fluids, dealers and vendors.
There goes the flavor: With so many flavors in the house of Mt. Baker, the company faces tough times ahead just getting each flavor approved for marketing. Thus, cutting off the 190 less popular flavors is a savvy decision, but keeping so much more may not be very smart either. If the current form of the bill is to be enforced, there are still more flavors to go, even the popular ones so long as they have tobacco, wintergreen, mint, and menthol flavor.
The Real Victims
While the plight of Mt. Baker and the other sectors of the industry are disturbing, it is the smokers wanting to quit and the non-smokers surrounding them that are the real victims here. The future of kicking the habit becomes bleak with the vapers and potential quitters paying double for their e-juices and losing the reward of a delicious experience.
With the HB 1645 bill getting back to the floor three times in the recent two years for discussion, two things are obvious: HB 1645 is not dead and its eager supporters are not about to quit.