According to the Canadian Vaping Association (CVA), a recent study concluded that the decline in sales resulting from banning flavored e-cigarettes would also reduce youth e-cigarette use, which is unfounded.
A recent analysis by the CDC Foundation examined changes in vaping product sales post-flavor bans in Massachusetts, New York, Rhode Island, and Washington, and found that statewide restrictions on non-tobacco flavored sales correlate with total unit sales. The amount decreased by 25.01% to 31.26%. Total sales by state are not capped
However, according to the CVA, the "hasty" conclusion that the reduction in total sales also reduced teen vaping prevalence does not hold, because the authors were unable to assess the age of purchasers.
According to the CVA, the most common way for young people to obtain vaping products is through social sourcing. "Even if the age of the purchaser can be verified, the reduction in youth vaping can only be determined through additional research," the CVA wrote in a news release.
"The problem with looking at regulation at the micro level and making policy based on individual research is that the big picture is being ignored," said Darryl Tempest, the Government Relations Committee of the CVA Council's Council of Government Relations. If we take this study at face value and assume that the conclusions are accurate and that very few young people are vaping, then on the face of it, such regulation seems logical. However, we know from reviewing all the evidence that restricting flavors can lead to smoking-related illness and death.