New Montana Vape Laws Will Kill Businesses, Jobs and Worse
If You Sell Vapes, Your Business Is Under Siege
If you own a business in Montana that sells vaping products to adults, a pair of bills likely to kill your business and potentially your customers are working their way through the legislature. If this sounds too strong, keep in mind that restrictions on nicotine vape products have been shown to increase cigarette sales.Â
Youth vaping has a hit a decade low, yet these restrictions continue to be crafted by lobbyists in order to protect Big Tobacco's market share. At Mi-Pod, we have always viewed underage vaping as an existential threat to the our business and also to our customers.Â
Stake Are High For Business Owners and Customers
Small business owners will pay with their livelihoods and the stakes are even higher for adult nicotine consumers denied access to their preferred products. The only winner is the tobacco industry, whose distribution model and inflated pricing stands to benefit from further restrictions on rival products.Â
Montana HB 149 and HB 177
Montana HB 149 and HB 177 are twin bills that create a separate regulatory framework for vapor products.
The burden for this regulatory expansion will directly impact you, the business owner. These laws also set the groundwork for additional restrictions and potential penalties that will decimate your ability to do business
Protect Your Business and Take Action Today
Call or email your state representatives and urge them to vote NO on HB 149 & HB 177. You can find your elected officials using VTA’s Action Center.Â
Let your customers know that laws are being proposed that will deny adult nicotine consumers access to their preferred products and flavor. The lawmakers voting on anti-vaping bills often have no idea about the real world impact on taxpaying citizens when they are funneled back onto cigarettes by ill-conceived social engineering schemes and transparent ploys to benefit the tobacco industry.
Why You Should Oppose These BillsÂ
As a business owner, your opposition to these bills must be registered with elected officials. While the lives of the American adults who have been funneled back onto combustible cigarettes from vaping have been totally ignored by the government, the loss of jobs and livelihoods is more likely to get their attention.
Why HB 149 and HB 147 Will Decimate Local Businesses
- Retailers Already Follow Strict Compliance MeasuresÂ
- Montana already prohibits sales of vapor products to minors. Additional licensing and penalties are redundant and unnecessary.Â
- Requiring separate retail licenses for vapor products adds bureaucratic red tape and financial strain on vape shops, convenience stores, and gas stations.Â
- These added costs could force small businesses to shut down or pass expenses onto consumers.Â
- The bills incentivize additional restrictions, leading to inconsistent laws across Montana.Â
- Responsible businesses suffer, when the most effective method of driving down youth nicotine consumption is robust age verification.
Alternative Nicotine Products Should Be Encouraged, Not RestrictedÂ
- Studies show that vaping is 95% less harmful than smoking and helps millions of adults quit combustible cigarettes. The National Health Service in the UK goes so far as to host: Vaping to Quit Smoking.
- Recent studies have consistently shown that vape flavor bans and restrictions increase cigarette sales.
- Youth vaping is at a 10-year low.
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