After four communities in the U.S. state of Maine successfully banned flavored tobacco products, public health advocates will propose a statewide ban in a legislative session that begins Wednesday.

If successful, Maine would join a handful of states that have imposed statewide bans or restrictions.

State Sen. Jill Duson of Portland is expected to introduce a bill on Friday that would include a ban, said Dan Cashman, a spokesman for the Flavors Hook Kids Maine advocacy group. Details of the bill were not released Thursday and Dusen could not be reached.

But flavored and menthol vaping products have been banned in all four Maine communities that approved the ban — South Portland, Portland, Brunswick and Bangor — as have menthol cigarettes. The federal government currently bans flavors such as mint and fruit in cigarettes, but does not regulate flavors in vaping products.

Menthol is allowed in cigarettes under federal law.

"That's critical," Cashman said. “Maine can’t wait. Every day, Maine’s kids are being lured into tobacco products with these marketing tactics and youth-oriented tastes. These are dangerously addictive products.”

Cashman said all four communities overwhelmingly supported a ban, and a statewide ban was the next logical step.

Currently, the states of Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, California, Maryland and Utah prohibit or restrict the sale of flavored vaping products.

Massachusetts and California have the most comprehensive bans -- banning the sale of flavors and menthol in all tobacco products, including cigarettes, according to the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids.

A bill introduced by State Rep. Michelle Meyer (D-Eliot) in 2021 and 2022 would ban flavored tobacco products, but despite support from the Maine Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Attorney General Aaron Frey and the support of several health experts, but the bill remains on hold.

Ben Goodman, a spokesman for Gov. Janet Mills, said the governor believes tobacco use poses a serious threat to the health of Maine's youth.

He cited anti-smoking initiatives, including laws banning the use and possession of all vaping devices and tobacco products on campus.

"We have not yet had the opportunity to review the bill, but generally speaking, the governor is interested in working with the Legislature to explore strategies related to tobacco use to protect the health and welfare of Maine youth," Goodman said in a statement. .

South Portland resident Leah Day, an advocate for the city's flavored tobacco ban, said a statewide ban won't stop all teens from becoming addicted, but it will reduce exposure and prevent many people from becoming addicted in the first place. attempts.

"Flavoured e-cigarettes are a terrible problem, and a ban would prevent so many people from becoming addicted," Day said.

Day said her son, a student at South Portland High School, became addicted almost immediately after he started vaping two years ago. She said the taste attracted him, and that the vaping products he tried contained much higher levels of nicotine than cigarettes. He ended up detoxing in the hospital and experiencing horrific withdrawal symptoms, she said. Day said her son didn't mind telling his story publicly, but he didn't want his first name used.

In Brunswick, school administrators and students reportedly reported a decrease in the use of vaping products in October following a citywide ban on flavored products in June.

According to the 2021 Maine General Youth Health Survey (the most recent survey), about 17 percent of high school students statewide have tried vaping products in the past 30 days.

South Portland is the latest city to enact a ban, with the City Council voting on Dec. 20 to ban the sale of flavored tobacco products beginning April 1.

Linda Cohen was one of two South Portland council members who voted against the citywide ban. Cohen said a statewide ban would be fairer to retailers than a city ban because they would all operate under the same rules, but she still opposes a statewide ban. Cohen noted that banning flavors would also affect adults, since the legal age to buy any tobacco product in Maine is 21.

"I don't think I should be telling other adults what they can or can't do with their bodies," Cohen said.

Cohen said she disapproves of flavored nicotine products, but other unhealthy products -- such as alcohol and marijuana -- are legal in Maine for adults and sometimes even trickle down to teens.

"I don't want kids to have (flavored nicotine), but I also don't want kids to have alcohol and marijuana," Cohen said.

These products are finding their way into the hands of children and can make them addicted to nicotine for years, Cashman said.

"Statistics show that a lot of people who start smoking do so through flavored products, and that's what makes them addicted," Cashman said.

Prev : UK and Czech Republic Vaping News

Next : British supermarket chain Waitrose stops selling disposable e-cigarettes

Email:sales@mlifevapor.com

WhatsApp:+86 13871529372

Email:sales@mlifevapor.com

WhatsApp:+86 13871529372

Tel：+86 13871529372

Add：6 / F, block B, building 2, Fuyong Tongtai times center, Bao'an District, Shenzhen

Language：简体中文 | >

Tel：+86 13871529372

Add：6 / F, block B, building 2, Fuyong Tongtai times center, Bao'an District, Shenzhen Website