You've nerfed Champions and Items before on the basis that it makes their early game less punishing than it should be given the strength of their kit in the mid-to-late game.
Meanwhile Flask's sole purpose is to do exactly that.
CppL1 votesTry to play against a lane bully without a flask...
ABlueQuaker1 votesLet me guess, the lane bully actually gets to bully you?
pripustas1 votesNo, the Flask lets you get 10 cs before backing. Without it, you get poked down and have to back in 2 waves with 3cs.
oreosauce1 votesThe thing is though is that flask is a very situational item to use in lane. I almost never take it unless I'm against a very VERY bad matchup, especially when I'm playing LB in the mid lane. It's true that flask gives you better survivability in the early game, but by buying flask, they end up trading out a lot of pther sustain/damage (like a Doran's ring/shield). When you're playing against someone with flask, you can just poke them and not go all-in until they run out of charges