A decade ago, whenever someone used the term ‘smoking,’ you’d immediately picture a person with a cigarette in their hand, releasing puffs of smoke every now and then.
Fast forward ten years, and the picture doesn’t paint itself the same anymore. Instead of a cigarette, you might also visualize someone using a vape device or pen to enjoy their smoke break. This has been popularized to the point where it has its own verb now – vaping.
Over the years, flavored vape and tobacco products have become quite popular among the masses, especially the youth. These vape products come in a wide range of flavors. These flavors are named after everything, from fruits and candies to desserts and even cocktails. Why won’t the younger generation, including kids, be attracted to them?
Of course, even flavored vape products pose a ton of health risks, just like cigarettes. These problems include heart diseases, respiratory issues, lung diseases, and cancer.
Therefore, if you’re worried about the impact flavored vape and tobacco products are having on your locality and its youth, you should take the necessary legal action to get them banned. In case you’re wondering how you can do that, keep reading.
Table of Contents
Educate Yourself and Your Community
Before you take any strict action to ban flavored vapes and tobacco in your area, you must first establish your reason for doing so. To do that, it’s vital that you educate yourself as well as your community about the possible risks and health hazards associated with these products.
You have to provide them with factual data. Do your research on this. Don’t think that people will rally behind you just by taking your word for it. They will want proof that whatever you are saying is true.
You can show them news reports and research papers or even tell them how other states or localities have already banned these products. Convincing a large number of people to rally behind a cause is never easy. But if you play your cards right and show the logic behind your decision, they will mobilize with you to ban these products.
Reach Out to Your Local Government Officials
Once you have a sizable crowd that’s backing you up on the same cause and front, you can now take your demands to the local government officials. These officials should include your city council members, county commissioners, and mayors.
Talk to them about your concerns. You also need to present your data and findings just like you did to gain support from the general public. Here, it’ll be best if you have someone from the local community who has done hands-on research regarding vaping and tobacco products and can present their own findings to your local government officials.
Lawyer Up and Work With a Lobby Firm
When Boston banned the sales of vaping products in 2019, it was mostly because of a coalition of the top lobbying firms in Boston, MA, who took the responsibility of overseeing the legal aspect of things. The best Boston lobbying firms were in on this together, which made it possible to pass this law so quickly and efficiently.
You, too, need to lawyer up if you want flavored vapes and tobacco products to be banned from your locality or state. Get at least one lobbying firm to side with you. A lobbying group will know when and how to push certain buttons so that necessary changes are initiated to make something the law. This includes banning the products in question.
Get Support from Local Organizations
Gain the support of your local organizations, including public health advocacy groups, schools, school boards, parents-teachers associations, etc. Their involvement is vital in making sure that the concerned authorities listen to your demands.
You’ll particularly need the support of those involved with your local schools and school boards. These people will be more concerned about the local youth getting addicted to vaping and using flavored tobacco products. Thus, since there’s a lot at stake for them, too, they will rally hard behind you.
That’s all you need to know about the things you have to do if you want to get flavored vape and tobacco products banned from your locality. As you can tell after reading all this, it’s in no way an easy task. However, it’s a noble cause that you’re chasing, and with the right support and approach, you will surely be able to achieve your goal.