Citing regulatory complexity and the vast uncertainty revolving around the electronic cigarette industry, the world’s largest retailer has announced they will cease the sale of all e-cigarettes once their current inventory has been exhausted. Walmart and Sam’s Club locations across the nation will stop selling the vaping devices, following the ban of flavored juices for use in them in Michigan, New York, and ultimately nationwide according to the White House.
The news came Friday afternoon in an internal memo that major networks and news wire sources are quoting. That memo to local store managers system-wide, says in part:
“Given the growing federal, state and local regulatory complexity and uncertainty regarding e-cigarettes, we plan to discontinue the sale of electronic nicotine delivery products at all Walmart and Sam’s Club U.S. locations,” and added, “We will complete our exit after selling through current inventory.”
The hue and cry over use of vaping products by teens across the country has been soaring in recent days, especially in light of lung diseases appearing to be related to vaping that have killed eight people in recent days.
Makers of the products being whiplashed by the outcry have long argued that they are a decidedly less harmful manner in which to get a nicotine fix that traditional cigarettes made from tobacco.
Walmart had already taken measures to keep tobacco out of the hands of teens by raising the age for a legal purchase in their stores to 21 earlier this year.
The e-cigarette industry isn’t standing idly by watching all of this happen. Shortly after the Walmart announcement, Gregory Conley of the American Vaping Association delivered a statement on the matter saying:
“You know you are in the middle of a moral panic when big corporations like Walmart find it is easier to sell deadly combustible tobacco products than to sell harm reduction alternatives. Removing vaping products from shelves will do nothing to stop drug dealers from continuing to sell contaminated marijuana oil cartridges on the street. This is like 7-Eleven announcing they’ll no longer be selling beer and wine because some people went blind from drinking moonshine made in a bathtub.
“This is the natural consequence of a seemingly never-ending stream of misleading news stories and over the top pronouncements from elected officials. This is a good month to be a cigarette manufacturer.”
