Vape shops in Washington State would be permitted to sell flavoured e-liquids under a new proposal.
A temporary ban has been in effect since October but legislation to make it permanent was amended in the Senate on Monday.
The amended bill would allow for flavoured vape products to be sold to adults aged 21 and above.
Senate Bill 6254 was introduced in the wake of the EVALI scare that led to 60 confirmed deaths across 27 states.
Senator Annette Cleveland who introduced the amendment said that the emergency ban was no longer appropriate as EVALI had been attributed to vitamin E acetate, not flavoured nicotine e-liquid.
Senator Cleveland said that liquids containing vitamin E acetate would be prohibited under the amendment.
There would also be a limit on nicotine content and a 37% excise tax on flavoured products.
In response to advocates who argued that flavours help adult smoker quit, health policy analysts Caitlin Lang-Perez said:
“We wish that we had definitive science around the effectiveness of e-cigarettes as a cessation device or as a harm reduction strategy, but we do not have that science”
However, e-cigarettes have been shown to be three times more effective that nicotine gum at helping smokers quit.
Meanwhile, a federal ban on flavoured pods has gone into effect, which will see countless products such as JUUL pulled from shelves across the country.
The ban does not affect single-use devices.
Source: Seattle Times
