Vape News in Brief – March 31st 2017 Edition

Let's take another quick look at what's happening in and around the vaping world, shall we?

• In what may be the most restrictive law we've ever seen, the city of Novato, California is angling to ban vaping entirely. Unless you're rich, that is.

Under a new law, smoking (and vaping) would be banned in all public places as well as most outdoor private spaces. It even goes so far as to ban vaping indoors if you live in an apartment or condominium complex, even if you own your own unit. The two places you would be allowed to vape (the law actually spells these out)? Inside a car with the windows rolled up, or inside a single-family house with no neighbors sharing a common wall. Good luck getting one of those – the median single-family home price in Novato is $745,000.

• Montana is the latest state to push for higher taxes on tobacco products and "tobacco products." A proposed tax hike there would raise tobacco taxes 24 percent and, for the first time, include vapor products in the list of items to fall under the same taxation guidelines as cigarettes, cigars, and chewing tobacco. Local vape shops are leading the charge against the new restrictions, rightly concerned that they'd lose market share to out-of-state online vendors, who'd be even cheaper in comparison to brick-and-mortar prices.

• Remember how we mentioned a few weeks ago that New Zealand was considering subsidizing vaping because of its obvious health benefits when compared to smoking? Would you believe that was coming for a country where vaping isn't even legal?

It's true, though that may soon change. Not only are our friends on the other side of the globe set to roll out laws that sanction vaping, they're specifically exempting vapes from tobacco taxes in order to distinguish that there's a clear difference between vapor and smoke, and to make vaping a cheaper alternative to help smokers interested in quitting. The country has a goal of eliminating smoking entirely by the year 2025, and they see vaping as a means to that end. The US, despite its continued demonization of smokers and vapers alike, sadly has no official intention to curtail the havoc that continues to be wreaked by Big Tobacco.

• Just a hop, skip, and jump away from the land of the Kiwis, Australian health advocates are decrying the country's long standing ban on vapor products containing nicotine (considered essential in helping longtime smokers quit their habits) "unethical and unscientific." Vaping opponents there countered that there was an "increasing body of evidence" pointing to the potential harms of vaping, though none of that evidence appears to have been provided to the news agency doing the reporting.

• This story out of Palm Beach, Florida has to be one of the best-researched and well-balanced mainstream media reports we've seen in a while. There's nothing groundbreaking here, but it's worth a read.

• The New York Post gets it right on their latest vaping report. They do use taxation numbers that are a bit questionable, but the broader theme of the article is spot-on.

• Here's a handy roundup of the various states and jurisdictions that are looking to tax or otherwise put the squeeze on the rights of vapers across the country.

• Here's another piece from the Washington Examiner that lays bare the fact-free argument against vaping propagated by vaping opponents.

• Lastly, if you're looking to invest in tobacco alternative stocks, Motley Fool has a rundown. Be forewarned, though, they're only focusing on lame Big Tobacco efforts.

That's it for now, we'll see you again soon as the vape world continues to turn…