After Arkansas’ Act 590 went into effect Sept.1 vape shop sellers and consumers have shifted their normal habits, causing conflicting feelings to ensue.
Vape sellers will now be banned from making their marketing appealing towards minors, such as using flavors that coincide with fictional characters, TV shows, movies, comic books or flavors that imply food or beverages.
The state of Arkansas has also released a list crafted by the Director of Arkansas Tobacco Control that makes it illegal to sell or possess vape devices that aren’t specifically included in the said list.
Although no local vape shop owners wanted to comment on this recent law change, the registry that is now in effect will cause businesses to have until Nov. 1 of this year to remove all of their disposables.
Inspectors that find any after this date will enforce fines of $1.00 for each product that violates this new change.
Some students on campus think this law could be productive for our state, especially to the younger generation who is greatly affected by vape’s addictive products and marketing.
“I do think it’s beneficial to have more regulations regarding who is selling these products and how they’re advertising it. That way we can make sure that the people who are going in and purchasing vapes are people who are able to make completely aware and conscious decisions,” UCA student Sydney Erwin said.
There is lots of controversy surrounding vapes in general and how the process of selling them should be regulated, but a large topic is the flavors that vape products include.
People question whether or not it’s fair to entice younger consumers with such an appealing and wide variety of flavors to choose from.
UCA freshman Omar Williams claimed this law is not beneficial to Arkansas vape users by saying, “People twenty-one (and older) should be able to smoke flavored vapes instead of smoking straight menthol.”
Williams doesn’t think this law will benefit Arkansas in the way lawmakers think it will. He is worried about the new and dangerous consequences younger vape users will encounter because of this law.
Erwin, though thinking higher regulations would keep the legitimate buying and selling of vape products safer, also said, “If people can’t get it legally, they might get it illegally and unsafely.”
This dilemma creates a turmoil on how to safely regulate inside and outside vape shops.
“While the regulation is a good thing, I feel like it severely limits the rights that individuals who are twenty-one and older have to consume tobacco products in Arkansas,” Sophomore Kay Marcotte said.
While there are concerns about this law change in and of itself there are also lots of challenges vape sellers and users are now going to have to face due to the higher regulations.
As time continues we might see a positive shift extending from this law change but until then there will still be conflicting views, dangers that need to be addressed and mixed emotions about the vape regulations in Arkansas.
