Urgent CTA - MN Flavor Ban Bill 2023 - Take Action!

Urgent CTA - MN Flavor Ban Bill 2023 - Take Action!

Final 2023 Update - Session has officially ended and SF2123 did not make it into any legislation passed this year. Thanks to all who reached out in protest of the bill. No doubt, they will be back next year to try again. Until then, we vape, we vote!

NEXT HEARING: Friday, March 17th, 2023 8:30 AM

Chair: Senator Erin P. Murphy

Location: 1100 Minnesota Senate Bldg.

If you would like to sign up to provide testimony or submit documents for the public record, please contact the Committee Administrator (teresa.mozur@senate.mn) by Thursday March 16th at 12:00 pm.

A bill to ban all flavors has been introduced at the state level in Minnesota and has already been heard by and passed by one committee, on its way to becoming law. SF 2123 would ban the sale of any flavored nicotine or tobacco products regardless of FDA authorization. The full bill language can be found here.

If this law passes, it will take effect August of this year and consumers will no longer be able to buy any vapor products that are deemed flavors - this includes fruits, bakery, tobaccos with other flavor profiles in them, as well as menthol. If this bill becomes law it will be devastating to adult vapers that rely on the products to abstain from combustibles and to small businesses like Smokeless that provide products and education to Minnesota communities. 

Our friends at CASAA (Consumer Advocacy for Smoke Free Alternatives) have put together this easy to do CTA that will help you to contact your local legislator. Your legislator, who will vote when it goes to a floor vote, may or may not sit on the committees that will hear this bill along the way. You can do the CASAA CTA here. Below this you will also find committee member info for contacting the next committee members that will hear the bill. 

Some things to consider when writing or calling your legislators: 

  • Urge your officials to oppose the flavor ban, SF 2123, which would restrict your ability to use low-risk alternatives to smoking and send people back to smoking or to buy their vapor products from informal sources.

  • Briefly, share your story about switching to vaping and what role that flavors play in helping you live smoke free.

  • Note any health changes you’ve experienced.

  • Briefly, discuss what losing access to a local supply of vapor products will mean for you (Will you shop out-of-state, in neighboring cities, or online? Will you make your own e-liquid at home or purchase products on an underground market?).

  • Be brief, be kind, and say thank you.

    THE CURRENT COMMITTEE TO CONTACT TODAY:

    The next stop this bill has is with the State and Local Government and Veteran's Affairs committee. It will be heard by this committee on Friday March 17th at 8:30am. You can contact those committee members via their mail forms and email addresses found here. 

    The house companion bill is HF2177. Status of the companion bill can be found here.

    Flavor bans are being enacted without thorough consideration of the negative consequences. Sales data from Massachusetts and New York suggest that many people who were vaping prior to the flavor bans simply returned to smoking. Historical sales data shows that over 85% of customers at Smokeless choose flavors. Other companies we work with have cited numbers from their data as high as 95%.

    While a flavor ban may amount to an inconvenience for teens experimenting with substance use, it is actively harming parents and other adults who are trying to quit smoking. Should this bill pass, many vapers will return to smoking and those that haven't made the switch yet will have less incentive to do so.

    It's all (vaper) hands on deck time. WE VAPE, WE VOTE. Please take some time today to make sure your voice is heard and help to stop this devastating legislation. 

    CASAA CTA LINK
    CURRENT COMMITTEE CTA LINK

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    4 comments


    • Bill kocke

      PLEASE DO NOT BAN FLAVORS.


    • Bill kocke

      Please consider a flavor ban. No one consider of all the flavors of alcohol advertised on tv, newspapers etc. Vaping has the process in place to limit who can legally purchase these products. This ban is a total waste of taxpayers money and resources when Marijuana may soon be legal for recreational use. Please do not advance this bill.


    • Troy Dormady

      Please don’t remove our (adults) ability to purchase flavored safe alternatives to smoking tobacco and cigarettes.


    • Peter Daly

      When you stop the legal sale of flavored nicotine, all you do is create a black market. It won’t reduce flavored nicotine consumption of any age, even minors. Instead, people will purchase them online, which is a market heavily dominated by Chinese sellers who circumnavigate all regulatory bodies. Congratulations, you’ve put minors (not to mention all capers) more at risk of inhaling far more dangerous and unregulated substances. If your goal is to protect minors, you’ve done the exact opposite if this bill passes.


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