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Could San Antonio be the first Texas city to ban flavored vapes?

"If you get rid of that, I'm going to have to lose employees; I may even lose my job," a vape shop manager told KENS 5.

Could San Antonio become the first Texas city to ban flavored vapes?

It's a proposal city officials confirmed they were exploring. Earlier this month President Trump proposed a plan to ban flavored vapes and the city tells KENS 5 they were looking into it. 

It's an idea that comes with much push-back. 

"We live in the land of the free and you're telling me all of the sudden I can't do something that has proven to be healthier than smoking? It's like telling me you need to go back to cigarettes and die," Joel Baumgartner an avid vaper and vape store manager said. 

While the city tells KENS 5 they aren't taking any action at this point, they say they're waiting for the FDA's recommendation on this matter. The city is also checking to see if legally they can do anything about it.

But the idea alone sent a chill down the spine of the industry that relies heavily on its flavored vape sales.

"You're talking about taking away more than 95% of the flavors that we offer," Baumgartner said. "I don't know of any business that can survive a cut of 95% of its sales." 

"If you get rid of that, I'm going to have to lose employees I may even lose my job," he added.

Livelihoods he vows to continue to fight for. A petition circulated the internet attempting to stop any kind of flavor ban in San Antonio. So far its reached nearly 1,000 signatures. 

"I will not stop until we know for a fact that we're safe," Baumgartner said.

RELATED: Proposal to ban e-cigarettes at county facilities to be considered

RELATED: H-E-B discontinues the sale of e-cigarettes

 

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