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In December of last year, Spanish authorities announced hefty anti-e-cig regulations focused primarily on banning use in public places. It now seems that those regulations — along with some heavy-handed anti-e-cig campaigns — have caused some 70% of electronic cigarette business to evaporate. Roughly 60 percent of e-cig outlets in the country have now closed and it appears another 20 percent will be soon.

According to the Spanish National Vaping Association (ANEV), efforts to make electronic cigarettes appear dangerous and deadly are motivated primarily by the financial interests of pharmaceutical companies that continue to make massive amounts off tobacco cessation produces. By banning their use in almost all public and even many private places, Spain has sent many vapers back to smoking.

This could be indicative of what might happen in other places — like the US — if electronic cigarettes are treated like tobacco cigarettes for the purposes of bans and sales restrictions. In essence, if the industry isn’t destroyed, it may simply be handed over to the few massive tobacco or pharmaceuticals companies that can afford the various (largely unnecessary) costs of doing business.

You can read more about the plummeting e-cig sales here.

Even stepping aside from the the health debate, many legislators do not like the idea of killing so many jobs based solely on the fact that e-cigs have unknown health effects. In the US, for instance, the e-cig industry could tip $3 billion this year. Killing 70 percent of that market practically over night — which may happen if the FDA has its way — could ruin a lot of small businesses that have popped up mostly in the last 3 years.