Tobacco flavor ban is shortsighted

Dear Editor,

Gov. Kathy Hochul's recently proposed tobacco flavor ban and $1 tax increase on cigarettes is shortsighted. Prohibitionist policies and regressive taxes such as this will only hurt small businesses, strengthen the illicit underground market, and have no meaningful health impact on adults or children. Additionally, any ban on specific tobacco items while the state is legalizing and expanding retail cannabis sales is contradictory and punitive.

Prohibiting the sale of menthol cigarettes and other products will remove these products from regulated, taxed retail stores, but will not prevent them from being accessed by consumers. These products will remain readily available to consumers in nearby states, on the flourishing criminal underground market for cigarettes, and on tribal land. In the 12 months following Massachusetts' ban of flavored tobacco products, menthol cigarette sales skyrocketed by over 126% in the Rhode Island and New Hampshire border counties. In addition to cross-border sales, the state also saw an increase in illegal smuggling, a problem New York is all too familiar with. A flavor ban is a sure guarantee that this criminal activity will become more prevalent in New York.

Lastly, the state is proudly opening retail spaces for recreational cannabis. In fact, just last week a retail space opened that is selling cannabis vape pens with flavors such as grapefruit, pineapple, cereal milk, and tropical. To attack tobacco retailers as vehicles for underage smoking while promoting flavored cannabis is hypocritical and unfair.

— Kent Sopris

Albany, N.Y. The writer represents the New York Association of

Convenience Stores.