It’s time for the Ocean State to say goodbye to mango, mint and kiwi-strawberry nicotine products.
On Jan. 1, various state-level provisions restricting access to vaping products went into effect, including a prohibition on the sale or intent to sell “flavored electronic nicotine-delivery systems,” commonly referred to as flavored vapes. The new regulations codify some recommendations brought by former Governor Gina Raimondo’s 2019 executive order.
The ban on flavored vape products was accompanied by a new tax on the products. At the heart of this effort is the state’s continued focus on safeguarding Rhode Island youth from nicotine use.
Jasjit Ahluwalia, a physician-scientist and professor of medicine and behavioral and social sciences, offered a more skeptical perspective on the ban. “Generally, banning anything is not always the most effective way to do things,” he said in an interview with The Herald. “It may have zero effect on kids and may have a negative effect on adults.”
He explained that over 80% of e-cigarette product sales in the country occur through illegal channels, meaning that the legislation is “banning the legal vapes, not the illegal vapes, which is ironic because legal vapes tend to be safer,” Ahluwalia added.
A 2021 study found that people were more likely to purchase vape products from illegal sources if their availability is restricted.
Ahluwalia also recognized that vape products have been effective substitutes for those looking to quit smoking.
“If you get rid of flavours like menthol or mango or mint, some adults may go back to cigarette smoking,” he explained. A ban on flavored vape products also “sends a message to the public that there’s something intrinsically dangerous about flavors,” he added.
For RISD first-year Amal Montelibano, news of the flavor ban was disappointing. “I’ve had a clear vape before,” Montelibano said, referring to unflavored vapes. “It’s just not good.”
RISD student Grace Teng has already found ways to avoid the ban in Rhode Island, sharing that she has been able to purchase flavored vapes in her home state.
“Whenever I go back home, my friends will ask me to get them something,” she told The Herald.
Before the ban, both students avoided owning their own vape products, choosing to borrow others’ instead. “No one is proud to vape, but it’s a very social thing,” Montelibano claimed.
With the ban of flavored vapes, the culture of sharing has dwindled, Montelibano said, adding that the ban has “instead sort of pushed me to buy my own.”
The ban has also changed the smoking habits of students. “Because of the vape ban, (people) have been going back to cigarettes more frequently than vapes,” Montelibano observed.
Ahluwalia acknowledged that the vape ban may adversely impact local businesses that specialize in selling flavored vapes. But “we shouldn’t make our policy based on that,” he said.
The Herald reached out to several stores on Thayer and Wickenden streets that sell vape products. All stores declined to comment.
Zach Robel is a Senior Staff Writer from Corvallis, Oregon, studying economics and environmental studies at Brown.
