We all know that vape is a divisive issue and that its supporters and opponents are equally passionate about it. Vaping has been erroneously tied to a number of health conditions, including the current COVID-19 pandemic. A mix of federal, state, and local lawmakers want to put vaping in check. Vapers, on the other hand, want their access to flavors preserved. As a business owner, your responsibility is giving access to those flavors and advocating for that access. The eJuices.co team investigates which cities are most unfriendly to vapers and the vaping industry.
San Francisco
The city of San Francisco has enacted various bans on vape. In 2019, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to ban the sale and distribution of vaping products in the city. This means that eJuices.co and other wholesalers cannot sell vape products in the city of San Francisco, and other cities in the San Francisco Bay Area are considering similar regulations.
In fact, the city is considering a smoking/vaping ban in apartments. Coincidentally, San Francisco is also home to JUUL Labs, but the ban was not applied retroactively, allowing JUUL to stay in business in one of the most vape-unfriendly cities in the world. If other cities follow San Francisco’s lead, and with an impending flavor ban coming over the entire state, it may be a difficult time for the vape industry in California.
Chicago
The city of Chicago and the state of Illinois in general are very hostile to vape. In September, Chicago passed a ban on flavored vaping products in the city. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL), who represents a congressional district in the Chicago suburbs, is a vocal opponent of the vaping industry, while Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), who represents the state as a whole, is also a vocal opponent of the industry.
Mayor Lori Lightfoot has also made her stance known regarding the vaping industry. "With flavors like candy and chocolate, these products are designed to entice youth, and we as a City have a responsibility to do everything we can to prevent that from happening. This ordinance is an important step, but more must be done to protect our young people's health from vaping and the tobacco industry's efforts to have them to develop life-threatening habits," she said.
Singapore
The small city-state is the key financial hub in Asia and is known for its strict enforcement of the law. Plenty of Singapore’s laws are very harsh compared to the rest of the Western world. The city bans the sale of chewing gum and even has jail time and/or a hefty fine if you try to connect to someone else’s WiFi network without prior authorization. It is completely illegal to vape in Singapore, with use and sales banned. Possession is also a crime that comes with a $1,500 fine. That being said, Singapore may be the most vape-unfriendly city in Southeast Asia.
Phnom Penh
Before COVID-19 crippled global travel, Cambodia was quickly becoming a star in the international tourism market. With tourist destinations such as Angkor Wat and Sihanoukville starting to make their way onto travel lists, the nation also made a rapid turnaround when it came to combating poverty, reducing the poverty rate from 47.8% in 2007 to only 13.5% in 2014. The capital city of Phnom Penh and Cambodia as a whole bans the sale, importation, and use of vaping products.
Mumbai
India was known for its heavy-handed regulation on various industries—the Licence Raj (raj meaning “rule” in Hindi) from 1947 to 1990 turned India into a centrally-planned economy. This meant that the government controlled almost every aspect of the economy. Today, the Licence Raj is no more, but India has taken a very hard stance against vaping in one of the largest tobacco markets in the world. In September 2019, Nirmala Sitharaman, India’s finance minister, banned “the production, manufacture, import, export, transport, sale, distribution, storage, and advertisement” of e-cigarettes.
First-time violators face up to a year in prison and a $1,400 fine (pretty steep by Indian standards), and this ban extended to transporting vape products on airplanes. The chances of vaping taking hold in India are slim to none. “If you want to fight Big Tobacco in India, you have to fight the government itself,” said Indian vaper Aryan Sharma. With a large government having control over 1.3 billion people, vapers face a very uphill if not impossible climb to access flavors in India.
Is your city vape friendly? Feel free to contact us about how your city approaches vape. If you have any questions or concerns, you can always contact your eJuices.co account manager or sales representative. We’re looking forward to speaking with you and helping your business succeed.