$10 Billion in Vapes Entered Black Market After Massachusetts Flavor Ban
The state's H4183 was approved in December 2019 by a vote of 127 to 31, and introduced a strict 75% tax and flavor ban. The bill also allows police to seize vehicles found with untaxed vaping products. Police may seize the products if they find untaxed el
The state's H4183 was approved in December 2019 with a vote of 127 to 31, imposing a severe 75% tax and a flavor ban. The bill also allows police to seize vehicles found with untaxed vaping products. Police can seize the product and its "container," including but not limited to motor vehicles, ships, or aircraft containing or transporting electronic nicotine delivery systems, if discovered without permission or authorization from the distributor.
Regarding flavored vaping products, their use is still permitted in a limited number of licensed "tobacco sticks". However, this sounds more tragic than it is for non-smokers: smokers use the device in their daily lives (for example, after meals, while driving to work, or at home watching movies) instead of cigarettes. For these individuals, the allowance for use in smoking bars is futile.
Vapers Turn to Illegal Products
It is precisely such bans and the exorbitant prices of THC products that have led users to purchase cheap and unregulated versions, triggering EVALI. Meanwhile, testimony from the Massachusetts Department of Revenue's illegal tobacco task force shows how flavored e-cigarette users have responded to this ban, and unsurprisingly, the task force believes the ban will lead to "increased smuggling and black market sales."
Retired Charles Giblin said: "I worry that increasing the aroma and enforcing law enforcement tasks to enforce the flavor ban will only create a significant new black market, including interstate smuggling and counterfeit tobacco." He is a special agent with the New Jersey Department of Treasury's Criminal Investigation Office.
"From the start, you will begin to see an increase in smuggling and illegal import activities of counterfeit flavored cigarettes between Massachusetts and New Hampshire from countries like China and Paraguay. They will almost immediately skyrocket at an astonishing rate," he said. "Another underestimated source will be quite powerful Canadian Indigenous reserve cigarette manufacturers."
Rich Marianos, who served for 27 years with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, told the task force, "The illegal tobacco trade along Interstate 95 on the East Coast is a $10 billion industry that is already working to fill the gap left by Massachusetts' new law."
EVALI is a clear example of consuming prohibited products
The expansion of the black market and the emergence of unregulated electronic products pose a significant threat to public health. The CDC has confirmed that the notorious outbreak of severe lung disease known as EVALI is actually caused by the consumption of unregulated THC products on the black market.
"The latest national and state survey results indicate that products containing tetrahydrocannabinol, particularly those obtained from the street or other informal channels (such as friends, family, or illegal dealers), are associated with most cases and play a significant role in the outbreak," the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported.
Ironically, it is precisely due to the lack of such information and the inaccurate association of the disease with regulated vaping products that has prompted many states (such as Massachusetts) to ban flavored vaping products, even without evidence linking lung disease to nicotine-based vaping products. In fact, it is such bans and the ridiculous prices of THC products that have led users to purchase cheap and unregulated versions.
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