There was a time when you could literally vape anywhere, even in places where smoking was banned. Unfortunately, that changed rapidly as anti-vaping groups pushed for vaping to be treated like tobacco, and their efforts were successful in many respects. Now many areas of the country have banned vaping in areas where smoking is banned due to misinformation and fear. But there are still areas that are still welcoming of vaping, with little or no ban on vaping and treating it as a separate product from tobacco in terms of both banning and taxation.
The Washington, DC-based free-market think tank R Street ranked the vaping policies of 52 cities across the country. And the results, released this month, showed Virginia Beach topping the list with an A+. Minneapolis came in last with the lowest grade, an F, while other cities with Fs included Chicago, Philadelphia, Seattle, Boston, and eight cities in California — a state that recently passed a major tax increase on tobacco and e-cigarettes on the ballot.
The rankings are based on cities’ vaping regulations, including bans, taxes, and business licenses for vaping products. California cities like Los Angeles, San Diego, Fresno Long Beach, Sacramento, Oakland, San Jose, and San Francisco all scored low because of recent tax legislation in those locations. If the scores were re-scored with the latest laws enacted after the rankings were published, California cities would rank even lower.
The city that ranked last on the list, Minneapolis, has vaping laws that are considered “failed to realize the potential of vaping products to reduce cigarette smoking,” according to the study’s authors.
On the brighter side of the rankings, Virginia Beach “has policies that are favorable to tobacco harm reduction.” The Virginia Supreme Court recognized the difference between tobacco and e-cigarettes in 2010. Virginia topped the rankings with a score of 97, the only city to score higher than the base score of 95. Rounding out the top five were Albuquerque, New Mexico, and three Arizona cities; Phoenix, Mesa, and Tucson. All of these cities were just one point away from matching the base score of 95.
There are many cities that scored below zero. The authors conclude that California is on track to become the region with the worst attitudes toward vaping very quickly. Overall, the authors say that most vaping policies in US cities are based on misinformation, and they accuse lawmakers of actually wanting to find another form of revenue tax to replace tobacco taxes rather than actually improving public health.
If, indeed, the rhetoric about reducing tobacco harm is true, then anti-vape policies are misguided and based on real concerns. In this case, educating the public about the safety of vaping would be a long-term solution and would help move anti-vape policies in the right direction toward more sensible laws, such as laws that keep minors and children away from these products while still allowing adults to make safe choices. But if the real reason for vape taxes and bans is because governments are trying to replace lost tax revenue as people quit smoking, then exposing this truth, along with the scientific evidence, would be the best way to force policymakers to change their views on vaping.
This article was published on churnmag by Jimmy Hafrey and translated by The Vape Club
