Eric Kueser, a Topeka businessman who wants to expand his business of placing vending machines in bars or restaurants to sell e-cigarette products, urged a Kansas House committee on Tuesday to modernize state law to allow e-cigs to be sold in machines along with traditional packs of cigarettes. (Kansas Reflector screen capture from Legislature’s YouTube channel)
TOPEKA — CBD merchant Eric Kueser launched a company to sell electronic cigarettes from vending machines and wants the Kansas Legislature to change state law to help the business flourish. prefilled pod kit
Kueser urged lawmakers to amend Kansas statutes to end a prohibition on sale of e-cigarettes and related vaping materials in wall-mounted vending machines. The Topeka businessman’s logic was that if merchants could sell these products over the counter at convenience stores, fairness dictated bars or clubs in Kansas ought to have the right to offer consumers the same products in a vending machine.
He said enactment of the bill could enable him to expand his business from Topeka to Wichita, Lawrence, Manhattan and Junction City. In addition, he estimated there was a 60% profit margin on vape sales.
“This bill has absolutely nothing to do with CBD, THC or any other intoxicating products sold in CBD stories. This is just about nicotine,” Kueser said.
He asked members of the House Federal and State Affairs Committee to consider the plight of a vape aficionado who didn’t have materials necessary to consume liquid nicotine in vapor form while hunkered down at a bar.
“What would you prefer? You could get in your car after you’ve been drinking and go get a vape and come back to the bar. Or you could just walk over to the machine on the wall and buy one and then call for your Uber later to go home,” Kueser said.
Under current state law, packs of 20 class A cigarettes were allowed to be legally sold out of a vending machine. The statute forbids cigars, smokeless tobacco as well as candy or “other items” to be marketed via vending devices.
House Bill 2094 would open the door to vending machine sales of vaping products to anyone 21 years of age or older. One estimate from an opponent of the bill indicated there might be 200 tobacco vending machines in operation statewide. However, Rep. Tom Kessler, the Republican chairman of the House committee and owner of Tom’s Wine & Spirits in Wichita, said there were 57 licensed cigarette vending machines in Kansas.
A trio of organizations — Tobacco Free Kansas Coalition, American Lung Association and American Cancer Society’s Cancer Action Network — opposed the bill.
Kari Rinker, who chairs the policy committee of Tobacco Free Kansas, said inserting e-cigarettes in vending machines located at public places would entice underage Kansans to seek new ways to circumvent restrictions. She said youth forbidden from legally purchasing these products had been targeted by the tobacco industry’s “deceptive marketing and sales practices.”
“Offering broader and potential unassisted e-cigarette access via vending machines will result in easier youth access,” Rinker said.
Megan Word, representing Cancer Action Network advocacy interests in Kansas, said e-cigarettes were the most used tobacco product among U.S. middle and high school students in 2024.
Among students who used e-cigarettes, she said, 88% said they relied on flavored vape products and one-fourth indicated they used e-cigarettes daily.
“Nicotine poses unique dangers to youth in several notable ways,” Word said. “Nicotine can harm brain development, which continues until about age 25. Youth show signs of nicotine addiction quickly, sometimes before the start of regular or daily use.”
Sara Prem, director of advocacy for the American Lung Association in Kansas and Greater Kansas City, said it didn’t make sense for Kansas to open a new pathway for acquiring e-cigarettes.
“Instead of creating additional distribution channels for e-cigarette devices, batteries and cartridges, we would recommend removing tobacco vending machines as a distribution channel entirely,” Prem said.
Rep. Kirk Haskins, a Topeka Democrat, said he shared a concerned the bill could open a Pandora’s box because marketers of cigars or smokeless tobacco might seek an exemption from the state’s existing vending machine standard. He urged Kueser to weigh in on the potential domino effect.
“Respectfully,” Kueser said, “they’re going to get it if they want it. People who are going to use tobacco are going to use tobacco.”
by Tim Carpenter, Kansas Reflector February 11, 2025
by Tim Carpenter, Kansas Reflector February 11, 2025
TOPEKA — CBD merchant Eric Kueser launched a company to sell electronic cigarettes from vending machines and wants the Kansas Legislature to change state law to help the business flourish.
Kueser urged lawmakers to amend Kansas statutes to end a prohibition on sale of e-cigarettes and related vaping materials in wall-mounted vending machines. The Topeka businessman’s logic was that if merchants could sell these products over the counter at convenience stores, fairness dictated bars or clubs in Kansas ought to have the right to offer consumers the same products in a vending machine.
He said enactment of the bill could enable him to expand his business from Topeka to Wichita, Lawrence, Manhattan and Junction City. In addition, he estimated there was a 60% profit margin on vape sales.
“This bill has absolutely nothing to do with CBD, THC or any other intoxicating products sold in CBD stories. This is just about nicotine,” Kueser said.
He asked members of the House Federal and State Affairs Committee to consider the plight of a vape aficionado who didn’t have materials necessary to consume liquid nicotine in vapor form while hunkered down at a bar.
“What would you prefer? You could get in your car after you’ve been drinking and go get a vape and come back to the bar. Or you could just walk over to the machine on the wall and buy one and then call for your Uber later to go home,” Kueser said.
Under current state law, packs of 20 class A cigarettes were allowed to be legally sold out of a vending machine. The statute forbids cigars, smokeless tobacco as well as candy or “other items” to be marketed via vending devices.
House Bill 2094 would open the door to vending machine sales of vaping products to anyone 21 years of age or older. One estimate from an opponent of the bill indicated there might be 200 tobacco vending machines in operation statewide. However, Rep. Tom Kessler, the Republican chairman of the House committee and owner of Tom’s Wine & Spirits in Wichita, said there were 57 licensed cigarette vending machines in Kansas.
A trio of organizations — Tobacco Free Kansas Coalition, American Lung Association and American Cancer Society’s Cancer Action Network — opposed the bill.
Kari Rinker, who chairs the policy committee of Tobacco Free Kansas, said inserting e-cigarettes in vending machines located at public places would entice underage Kansans to seek new ways to circumvent restrictions. She said youth forbidden from legally purchasing these products had been targeted by the tobacco industry’s “deceptive marketing and sales practices.”
“Offering broader and potential unassisted e-cigarette access via vending machines will result in easier youth access,” Rinker said.
Megan Word, representing Cancer Action Network advocacy interests in Kansas, said e-cigarettes were the most used tobacco product among U.S. middle and high school students in 2024.
Among students who used e-cigarettes, she said, 88% said they relied on flavored vape products and one-fourth indicated they used e-cigarettes daily.
“Nicotine poses unique dangers to youth in several notable ways,” Word said. “Nicotine can harm brain development, which continues until about age 25. Youth show signs of nicotine addiction quickly, sometimes before the start of regular or daily use.”
Sara Prem, director of advocacy for the American Lung Association in Kansas and Greater Kansas City, said it didn’t make sense for Kansas to open a new pathway for acquiring e-cigarettes.
“Instead of creating additional distribution channels for e-cigarette devices, batteries and cartridges, we would recommend removing tobacco vending machines as a distribution channel entirely,” Prem said.
Rep. Kirk Haskins, a Topeka Democrat, said he shared a concerned the bill could open a Pandora’s box because marketers of cigars or smokeless tobacco might seek an exemption from the state’s existing vending machine standard. He urged Kueser to weigh in on the potential domino effect.
“Respectfully,” Kueser said, “they’re going to get it if they want it. People who are going to use tobacco are going to use tobacco.”
Kansas Reflector is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Kansas Reflector maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Sherman Smith for questions: info@kansasreflector.com.
Our stories may be republished online or in print under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. We ask that you edit only for style or to shorten, provide proper attribution and link to our website. AP and Getty images may not be republished. Please see our republishing guidelines for use of any other photos and graphics.
Tim Carpenter has reported on Kansas for 38 years. He covered the Capitol for 16 years at the Topeka Capital-Journal and previously worked for the Lawrence Journal-World and United Press International.
Kansas Reflector is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.
Kansas Reflector is a nonprofit news operation providing in-depth reporting, diverse opinions and daily coverage of state government and politics. This public service is free to readers and other news outlets.
We’re part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.
DEIJ Policy | Ethics Policy | Privacy Policy
geek vape Our stories may be republished online or in print under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. We ask that you edit only for style or to shorten, provide proper attribution and link to our website. (See full republishing guidelines.)