Scott Tibbs
An unconstitutional nanny-state overreach
By Scott Tibbs, September 19, 2019
This is an open letter to President Donald Trump.
Dear Mr. President,
I was dismayed when I read that you would be moving to ban flavored liquids used in electronic cigarettes, and I strongly urge you to reconsider this decision that again expands the power of the federal government and actually damages public health.
Before we even get into the policy merits, the President has absolutely no authority under the Constitution to ban flavored "vaping" cartridges. If it is a constitutional action at all, it should be handled by Congress, not the President. This is one more area where the executive branch has overstepped its authority that is rightfully belongs to the legislative branch, and Congress needs to forcefully re-assert its authority. I urge you to "Make America great Again" by willingly giving this legislative authority back to the legislative branch.
Of course, there is also the fact that the Tenth Amendment restricts the authority of the federal government, reserving wide swaths of sovereignty to the states. It required an amendment to the Constitution to ban alcohol, so why should that not be the case with flavored liquids that people vape?
Questions about vaping aside, it is certainly safer than smoking and many smokers have switched to vaping to help them quit. The more the government cracks down on vaping, the more difficult it will be for smokers to quit, and this will result in more people dying. This is a very negative development, and restricting vaping is the equivalent of missing the forest for a few twigs.
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