It’s been a turbulent week in the world of vaping. On Sept. 4, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced a plan to make Michigan the first state to ban flavored e-cigarettes for a period of six months, a move that may soon be followed by other states like New York. On Friday, the Centers for Disease Control urged people to stop vaping until the cause of an unknown breathing illness associated with e-cigarette usage is determined. Health officials have identified 450 possible cases in 33 states and up to six deaths.
This is certainly alarming, and more research is undoubtedly needed. But, politicians should not be so quick to act with premature flavored bans like Michigan’s. Such a rush to judgement could have unintended consequences, expanding the already thriving black market for e-vapor products and thus increasing the number of people who get sick.
As Reason’s Jacob Sullum reported earlier this week, a new study in The New England Journal of Medicine suggests that the culprit behind the vaping illness is likely from illicit sources:
Even former FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, an avid opponent of e-cigarettes, admitted on Twitter last week that the source of the illness seems to be chemicals illegally cut into e-vapor products.
Legally sold nicotine based e-cigs are not harmless. But most of these severe cases, so far, appear to be symptoms that can occur when either oils or lipid-containing substances enter lungs. This points to illegal products that are being cut with dangerous chemicals as a culprit.
— Scott Gottlieb, MD (@ScottGottliebMD) September 7, 2019
In this case, banning flavored e-cigarettes could only make the situation worse, driving users to the black market where they are more likely to encounter these dangerous chemicals. It’s unfair to blame a whole category of products on the bad actions of illegal actors.
An analogous situation would be if Kentucky started banning the sale of moonshine by legal distillers because a black market batch caused some drinkers to go blind. In both cases, government action in the form of investigation, prosecution, and issuing health guidelines may certainly be justified. However, a broad-stroke ban against otherwise legal, health-certified products would be government overreach.
Study after study has suggested that e-cigarettes have helped cigarette smokers quit. As a result, banning flavored e-cigarettes could drive former smokers back to their old habits. A 2017 paper published by the National Bureau of Economic Research concluded as such, finding that flavor bans “would result in the increased choice of combustible cigarettes.”
The spate of illnesses associated with vaping is a cause for concern, but politicians and regulators shouldn’t throw out the baby with the bathwater. E-cigarettes have been shown to be a better alternative to traditional cigarettes. Banning flavored cigarettes completely could only make the situation worse, increasing the number of patients with the illness and driving smokers on the path to quitting back to smoking.
Casey Given (@CaseyJGiven) is a contributor to the Washington Examiner’s Beltway Confidential blog. He is the executive director of Young Voices.
