On December 27th, 2024 a new Yale School of Public Health study was published, examining the effects of e-cigarette flavor restrictions on the usage of vape devices and cigarettes. Led by Associate Professor Abigail Friedman, the study found that restrictions on flavored vapes resulted in a decrease in e-cigarette usage, while increasing the overall usage of traditional combustible cigarettes. Both of these data points are focused on young adults, ages 18-29. The paper notes that the restrictions have dangerous unintended consequences, given that the majority of smokers begin using tobacco before age 30. 

As SB1272 progresses into the state senate in the state of Arizona, this study should be examined with an open mind. This Senate Bill is a de facto ban on flavored vape products, despite what some legislators believe. Should the United States Food and Drug Administration continue to act as they have in the past, all flavored nicotine products will be subject to Marketing Denial Orders, despite their current pending status in the Premarket Tobacco Authorization process when submitted to an Arizona product registry.

Associate Professor Friedman calls for a nuanced approach to legislation regarding vapor products, citing the increase in cigarette usage as a severe detriment to public health. It is important to remember that vaping is demonstrably safer than cigarettes, and even promoted as a healthier alternative to smoking by the United Kingdom’s National Health Service. Recall a 2018 flavored vapor product ban in San Francisco, CA. that was also shown to have increased youth cigarette usage exponentially. It’s abundantly clear that nicotine drives usage behavior, not flavoring.

Preventing a backslide into cigarette use while protecting small businesses should be a priority for legislators deliberating on SB1272. Bearing in mind that youth use of vapor continues to decline, the focus should be on public health and protecting adult access to safer alternatives, while upholding the right of a  whole small-business fronted industry to exist in the state. A lot is at stake with SB1272, a bill that should be denied outright, until more reasonable regulation measures are brought forward.