Just going to add here that since the vape ban the state has lost $150 million in taxes to neighboring states. The data is out and it shows that the ban has had almost 0 effect on causing ppl to quit, has actually caused many ppl to go back to smoking cigarettes, has lost the state hundreds of millions of dollars in tax revenue, and has now created a black market which takes up policing resources, creates new criminals, more burden on the courts, and more burden on the jails… all for nothing. No matter what way you look at it it has failed in every single way. For whatever reason charlie baker saw all of the incredible failings of the drug war and said I want that! for tobacco. We 100% should reverse the ban which is mostly just loading up new hampshires coffers and I believe this time use 100% of the tax revenue to go toward the mbta. Its as close to getting recurring free money as youre ever going to get.
“Early results from the flavored tobacco & vaping products prohibition enacted in Massachusetts show such bans deprive adults of less harmful alternatives to cigarettes, crush small businesses, depress tax collections as commerce shifts across state lines, and fail to curb smoking.”
“There is no indication that smoking has been mitigated, but there is evidence that Massachusetts has lost millions in tax revenue to neighboring states, as consumers have taken their business to stores in New Hampshire and Rhode Island, where the flavored tobacco products demanded by many law-abiding adults are still available for sale.”
https://www.forbes.com/sites/patric...vape-ban-is-a-cautionary-tale-for-the-nation/
“STOUGHTON, Mass. — Bootleg cigarette smuggling has become an ongoing drain on law enforcement as illicit tobacco seizures have surged and state tax revenue from tobacco sales continues to plummet, according to a new report by the Massachusetts Illicit Tobacco Task Force (ITTF).
[Read more: Massachusetts Court Upholds Brookline's Age-Restricted Tobacco Rule]
"Despite enforcement efforts and the hard work done by the Illegal Tobacco Task Force, smuggling of untaxed tobacco products remains a significant challenge," said Peter Brennan, executive director of the New England Convenience Store and Energy Marketers Association. "Smugglers are developing more sophisticated operations to counter the Task Force's targeted investigations. It's clear that the Commonwealth is struggling with enforcement."”
“According to the report, the state's rush to ban flavored tobacco has
failed to curb use of these products while inadvertently creating a market for illicit untaxed products and cross-border smuggling. The report estimated the ban has cost the state nearly $150 million in lost tax revenue from legal sales since it went into effect in 2020.”
https://csnews.com/massachusetts-faces-fallout-flavored-tobacco-ban
“Massachusetts highlight the ban's unintended consequences. The state's experiment in prohibition has led to thriving illicit markets, challenges for law enforcement, and prosecution of sellers.”
“The experience in Massachusetts has vindicated concerns that flavor bans will lead to illicit markets, arrests, and incarceration. Coupled with foregone tax revenue, evidence that the public health benefits
may be less than promised, and the risk that banning flavored vaping products will
deter smokers from switching to safer sources of nicotine, the unintended consequences of these policies are significant.”
https://reason.com/2023/03/09/massachusetts-tobacco-ban-went-as-badly-as-youd-expect/
mass.streetsblog.org
