Utah Advocacy
The Utah Vapor Business Association is your vapor advocate in Utah. Our mission is to minimize the regulation of the vapor industry in Utah.
Our mission is to advocate for a reasonably regulated marketplace which allows our member companies to provide smoke-free products to adult consumers that are an attractive choice, while promoting a positive public image for vapor products and educating businesses in our industry.
For questions about the association please reach out to Juan Bravo with VIP Vape.
Media & Association Contact: Juan Bravo, 801-372-7527
E-Flavor Ban Updates
Sept 12th Update: We appreciate your patience with us over the past few days. We wanted to give you all a quick update on what's happened since yesterday:
- Representative Paul Ray called a 4pm press conference yesterday to call for a statewide ban on E-juice based on the claim of randomly purchased e-juice from shops in Salt Lake, and then had them "tested" and they tested positive for opioids, THC, PCP and barbiturates among other things.
He then said it was illegal to sell e-juice as of August 8th 2019 unless the product had been approved by the FDA
All day yesterday and today the Utah Vapor Business Association worked extremely hard to clarify this with the media and issued multiple press releases to argue Rep. Ray's claims.
The lab that "tested" this product came forward and said they in fact did NOT test the product, they merely sold urine test strips to Mr. Ray....these strips are not meant to test toxicology or anything else, especially not in material such as e-juice. For reference, they tested a can of red bull and it tested "positive" for cocaine. Then at yet another press conference this time held at the lab, who conducted the tests, Beechtree Diagnostics, President Michael Murano went on record stating “This is not to be taken as evidence, I think Rep Ray didn’t share enough of the testing parameters to truly validate” his claims. There were statements taken at Beechtree in which Michael Murano denounced Paul Ray's "findings" saying that Beechtree didn't even run the tests, and they just sold Paul Ray urine test strips not meant to test these products.
The official stance of the state health departments is that they will NOT enforce the August 8th rule since the FDA has no approval process even in place yet!
Again, we apologize for things being a little chaotic but as of right now, it is business as usual in the state of Utah! We will be attending a federal conference in Washington DC next week to discuss the issue of a federal flavor ban and will keep you guys posted! Thank you for all your support! Feel free to reach out with any questions or concerns.
September 16th Update:
Sept 16-18, 2019: We are currently in Washington D.C. at the Vapor Technology Association Day on the Hill meeting. “We’re out here fighting for Utah’s right to vape.” We need all the help we can with the what is happening in Washington and in Utah. Join UVBA today. JOIN
Representing Utah Vape in Washington D.C. this week.
Representing Utah in Washington D.C. this week.
HB324 - Tobacco Regulation Amendments (2018 Legislative Session) - As many of you may be aware, prior to us forming the UVBA, the Utah Legislature, at the request of and with heavy lobbying from anti-tobacco advocates and the local health departments, HB324. This bill took permitting authority form the Utah State Tax Commission to regulate "retail tobacco specialty business". In essence, HB324 requires that any store that generates more than 35% of its gross revenue through the sale of tobacco products or dedicates more than 20% of its floor space or shelf space to advertising tobacco products to receive a Retail Tobacco Specialty Business license from its local health department.
This has obviously caused some concern within the Vapor Shop community as the State Health Department was so eager to pass this legislation and its corresponding rules, that they didn't think through the implications of enforcement, leading to confusion among the regulated companies, the local health department and the Tax Commission. I recently heard from one of your members that when trying to renew his permit the Tax Commission wouldn't take his check for his fees because "they don't know who was supposed to be in charge of the program since HB324 passed.
In response to this change, Senator Thatcher has asked that we collect as many stories as possibly about our interactions with our local health departments regarding the implementation of HB324, so that he can evaluate the new program and potentially make changes to repair any problems or confusion that may have been created. You can send your information to info@utahvapor.com. We have also started a Closed Facebook Page for providing feedback on this topic. Please provide your interactions (good and bad) to the Facebook Group page. (UVBA - HB324) You must be a member of UVBA to be part of the group and you must request to join the group.