Ban This…

Allan Giberti

Following in the footsteps of Massachusetts (we do that a lot), Michigan and New York, Governor Gina Raimondo, by executive order has banned the sale of flavored vaping products last month. Her reasoning being that the flavored products are aimed at children and she blamed them for "a public health crisis."

This comes in response to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report of more than 500 confirmed cases of lung illnesses and nine deaths nationwide that have been attributed to vaping.

Although the CDC has not identified a common product or ingredient that is responsible for the illnesses, the vast majority of the majority of those affected had vaped products containing THC. You know, weed.

The main focus of the investigation are those products that contained THC, in particular, ingredients that may have been added to the marijuana oil. In every case, save one in Oregon, every one of those products containing THC was purchased illegally, as in not at a dispensary or at a legal retailer.

So, why is Governor Raimondo banning flavored e-cigarettes? Don’t worry though, menthol and regular e-vaping products are fine, which raises more questions but I’m getting ahead of myself.

She says because it’s targeted at children with flavors like bubblegum and she can’t imagine how any adult would want that. Newsflash… they have been making all kinds of flavored tobacco products for a long, long time.

There is a bigger story here, lessons to be learned here. Supporters of the 2nd Amendment are all to familiar with them. One thing we have been saying it for some time now, criminals don’t follow the law. It’s against the law to sell vaping products to minors, yet 1 in 8 high schoolers vape on a daily basis.

According to the American Lung Association, “every day, almost 2,500 children under 18 years of age try their first cigarette, and more than 400 of them will become new, regular daily smokers.” It’s illegal to sell tobacco to a minor and minors may not possess, purchase, or attempt to possess or purchase tobacco, yet here we are. 

The legal age to purchase alcohol is 21 but according to the CDC, “People aged 12–20 drink 11% of all alcohol consumed. More than 90% of that consumption is in the form of binge drinking.” How can that happen? We have laws in place to stop that from happening, don’t we? Of course, we do, maybe we should start enforcing them. That way we’re not punishing every adult in the State for the actions of a few.  

The next lesson is that this isn’t about the children. It’s about the Governor and more government interference in your lives. The vaping products in question contained THC and was purchased on the Black Market. All Governor Raimondo and her colleagues have done is expand the Black Market’s vaping inventory. Her executive order will not make our children safer but will only increase the likelihood of exposure to unsafe knock off flavored vaping juices.

Just like “common sense gun control”, Governor Raimondo has single handedly implemented “common sense vaping control”. Apparently Governor Raimondo’s idea of “common sense” is simply control. Her control, because obviously you really don’t know what’s best for you.

So much for  #MyBodyMyChoice.

Allan Giberti is the host of RI Red Radio on 990WBOB.com. You can listen to Allan live on Mondays at 7pm and Tuesdays at 8pm. All times Eastern.

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