Flavor Ban Bills Are Dead in Colorado and Connecticut
Hard work by vaping advocates helped kill flavor ban bills backed by the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids in two state legislatures. In a year thought to be ripe for state-level flavor bans, so far only Hawaii’s legislature has passed a bill prohibiting vape flavors in 2022.
Even though the FDA may never authorize any flavored vape products, shutting down state and local flavor bans is important because the FDA could be tied up for years fighting legal challenges to their Marketing Denial Orders (MDOs).
Connecticut: pro-vaping experts helped turn the tide
As time ran out on the Connecticut General Assembly’s 2022 session, SB 367—the flavor ban bill that had passed two joint House-Senate committees—died without a final vote in either body. The legislative session ended May 4.
It was the fourth time since 2020 that Connecticut vaping advocates have helped fight off a flavor ban. Flavor prohibition was included in both the 2020 and 2021 state budgets, and a separate bill was also introduced last year.