At an Oireachtas Health Committee hearing in November, chairman Seán Crowe spoke in favour of a vape flavour ban, saying that it should be included in the upcoming Public Health (Tobacco and Nicotine Inhaling Products) Bill.
“IVVA is deeply concerned by the negative effects a flavour ban could have on tobacco harm reduction and consumer choice. A survey carried out by the Independent European Vape Alliance (IEVA) in 2020 found that to nearly 65pc of vapers vaped fruit or sweet e-liquids on a daily basis.”
“The main argument in favour of banning flavoured e-liquids is the potential risk of making vaping products more attractive to minors with child-friendly flavourings and packaging. The association between vaping flavours and subsequent smoking initiation is not substantiated by evidence.”
In line with Connolly’s arguments, while most assume that flavour bans are beneficial because they would reduce teen vaping rates, a recent study published in JAMA Pediatrics, found that following San Francisco’s flavour ban, teenagers in the city’s high schools were more likely to take up smoking than teenagers in school districts with no such ban in place.
SB 793
In August 2020, SB 793 by Senator Jerry Hill, had banned the sale of flavoured tobacco products, including non-tobacco products such as e-cigarettes across the city of San Francisco. The study titled, “A Difference-in-Differences Analysis of Youth Smoking and a Ban on Sales of Flavored Tobacco Products in San Francisco, California,” aimed to determine any relationship between San Francisco’s ban on flavoured tobacco product sales and smoking among high school students younger than 18 years.
The researchers found that following the ban, teenagers in the city’s high schools were more likely to take up smoking than teenagers in US school districts where no flavour bans were imposed. While prior to the ban, smoking rates in San Francisco were similar to those of many cities across the country.
Read Further: Independent.ie
