The Future of Flavored Ejuices

This post covers vaping legislation from 2017 and 2018. Laws, proposed bills, and product availability change constantly at the state and federal level, so treat the dates below as a snapshot. Check your current state and local rules before you buy.

Flavored E-Juice and the Push for FDA Regulation

In our previous post we started on a piece of legislation introduced in New York that could reshape what adult vapers can buy. New York Assemblywoman Linda Rosenthal introduced a bill that would "ban the sale and distribution of e-cigarette liquids in New York." The stated reasoning behind it: that flavored e-juices appeal to minors. The proposal landed on top of laws already on the books banning vaping in New York schools, public and private, and putting public-use restrictions on vaping similar to those for tobacco cigarettes. Part one has the full detail on the bill. Here we zoom out to what passage would actually mean.

What the Bill Would Mean for Adult Buyers

Put the pieces together and a direction emerges. Lawmakers in New York want to make e-cigarette products at least as hard to access as traditional cigarettes. Most of the measures are written around keeping products away from minors, and that goal is reasonable on its own. But a flavor ban does not stop at minors. If Rosenthal's bill passed, vaping would stay legal in name, while actually buying e-juice in the state could become difficult and expensive for adults who already vape.

That is the part worth flagging. A broad sales ban does not erase demand among adults who already use these products. It pushes them to buy somewhere else, often across state lines or online, and leaves licensed in-state shops carrying the cost of the rule.

Where the "Only Kids Like Flavors" Argument Breaks Down

The weak point in the reasoning is the claim that flavored e-juice only appeals to minors. Fruit, dessert, menthol, and tobacco-style profiles are exactly what a huge share of adult vapers reach for. Plenty of adults simply prefer a strawberry or custard profile over an unflavored one. Treating flavor as proof of youth marketing ignores how the adult market actually shops.

On a wider scale, New York legislation is worth watching because it tends to set a template other states copy. Measures that pass there have a habit of catching on elsewhere. If you follow this category, what New York does is a useful early signal for where your own state might head.

Make Your Voice Heard

If you are a New York resident and you disagree with these measures, talk to your representatives. Even outside New York, it is worth tracking the bills in your own state if you care about what adults 21+ can legally buy. Want to learn more about how to follow vape policy where you live?

Update, June 1, 2018: The FDA Asked for Public Comment on Flavors

For a limited window, the FDA opened an official docket inviting consumers to submit a comment on flavored e-liquid. This was not an outside petition. The agency itself requested public input, and comments filed during the window became part of the formal record it reviewed. If you wanted flavored options to stay available, taking a few minutes to submit a comment was the direct way to be on that record.

Note for readers today: that 2018 comment window has long closed, and federal policy has moved several times since. The FDA now reviews vapor products through the Premarket Tobacco Product Application (PMTA) process, and what stays on the market shifts with that process and with the courts. Always confirm current rules and current product availability before buying.

Frequently Asked Questions

These products are intended only for adults 21+. Nicotine is an addictive chemical. This article is general product information and is not a smoking-cessation claim.