Explaining the Hatred
This hatred toward e-cigarettes exists despite cigarettes killing nearly 500,000 Americans per year, while the regular use of a nicotine e-cigarette has never claimed a single life.
Where Does It All Come From?
But even before the vaping illness outbreak, e-cigarettes were already being raked over the coals. The rise in teenage vaping was labeled an “epidemic”. Concerned parents lobbied their representatives in Congress and state legislatures to act against the scourge of e-cigarettes.
The US Is Not Alone in Hating E-Cigs
While attitudes in the US seem generally negative toward e-cigarettes, it is, by no means, the only country that has them. Several countries have also implemented nationwide bans on buying, selling, and using e-cigarettes for various reasons.
The Wrong Time and the Wrong Place
The US has the unfortunate distinction of being the only country in the world where vaping THC led directly to illness and death. There were 20 reported cases of EVALI in Canada, but no deaths were reported. In other vaping-friendly countries like the UK, there were also no cases of the vaping illness that afflicted close to 2,000 Americans.
What Can We Expect?
Given the long history of panic and fear precluding all major decisions made over intoxicating substances in the US, the future does not look bright for nicotine e-cigarettes. Prohibition was law for over ten years before it was finally repealed. Marijuana has only recently been legalized (after nearly 70 years), but again, only at the state level.
Renewed push for e-cigarette flavor bans
But Pennsylvania’s law wasn’t about stopping the sale, just taxing it. These new efforts are different. New York and New Jersey had already attempted to ban e-cigarette flavors and failed, with the only successful bans passing locally.
Some e-cigarette regulation is needed
While public health officials point to the lack of regulation as one of the biggest problems with vaping, many inside the industry are not scared of it.