Gaining momentum to take flavored tobacco off the market

In 2009, President Obama signed the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act into law. The landmark piece of legislation gave the Food and Drug Administration much needed authority to regulate tobacco products, and resulted in the agency ending the sale of flavored cigarettes. Unfortunately, it wasn’t a total success story. Lawmakers left a loophole in the law that allowed one of the most problematic products to remain on the market–menthol cigarettes. While the FDA is considering finally closing that loophole, concrete action at the federal level could take years. That’s why states and localities have stepped in to pass policies that take all flavored tobacco products off the market. 

Maine’s the latest state where the campaign to end the sale of flavored products is heating up. Five towns and cities–Bangor, Portland, South Portland, Brunswick, and Bar Harbor–have already passed local ordinances to take these kid-friendly products off the market. South Portland’s ordinance went into effect last month. And last week, supporters gathered in the state capitol for a hearing on LD 1215, An Act to End the Sale of Flavored Tobacco Products. 

1 in 5 Maine high school students currently use a tobacco product, a rate that’s above the national average. LD 1215 targets flavored products because they appeal to kids. So what would it look like if flavors were out of the picture? A survey of youth tobacco users attempted to answer that question, and the authors found that when asked if they’d continue using [product] if it were not flavored, three-fourths of flavored product users said no. 

The hearing on LD 1215 featured students, parents, and health professionals talking about health impacts of tobacco use for young people. But there was another key voice in support of the bill–businesses. Tobacco-Free Maine Works, a PIRG-organized coalition of business leaders in support of taking flavored products off the market to reduce youth tobacco use and promote healthy communities showed up in force at the hearing. The coalition’s partners more than doubled since it was announced in early February, reaching 66 businesses across 10 of Maine’s 16 counties. 

Businesses support ending the sale of flavored tobacco products because it will help ensure young people don’t pick up tobacco use. That’s good for their health, and will promote a more reliable, stable workforce for Maine’s future. 

Tobacco-Free Maine Work’s members face the youth tobacco issue in their communities and families. For example, in her testimony, Shanna Cox, President and CEO of the Lewiston-Auburn Chamber of Commerce said that “Public health and our economic well-being are tied together. As a leading cause of preventable death and disease in Maine, tobacco use is a perfect example of that. Smoking costs Maine nearly $1.5 billion annually in associated health care expenses and lost productivity.” 

Dd Allen, co-owner of OTTO’s Pizza, said that, “like other businesses, maintaining reliable staff across our locations is a top priority and a challenge for OTTOS. Tobacco use among employees makes that even harder because they tend to be less healthy and call out sick more often.” 

And Kandra Ayotte-Foster, Spa Director and General Manager of the Senator Inn and Spa in Augusta, shared with committee members that “Reducing youth tobacco use is a way to invest in the health and well-being of our young people. That’s reason enough to act. As a cancer survivor, I wouldn’t wish that struggle on anyone. It’s just an added benefit that if young people aren’t tobacco users, then by the time they enter the workforce, they’ll also be more reliable, and productive employees.”

You could have driven a truck packed with menthol cigarettes through the 2009 flavored tobacco loophole. Parents, businesses, and community leaders who see the impacts of tobacco use every day are urging lawmakers to close that loophole now.