San Francisco to ban sales of vaping flavored liquid

SAN FRANCISCO » San Francisco city supervisors unanimously approved a measure that bans the sale of flavored nicotine-laced liquid used in electronic cigarettes and flavored tobacco products, saying nicotine masked in cotton candy, banana cream, mint and other flavors entices kids into a lifetime of addiction.

Other cities have passed laws reducing access to flavored vaping liquids and flavored tobacco but San Francisco is the first in the country to approve a sales ban.

Sales of vaping liquids that taste like tobacco will still be allowed.

“We’re focusing on flavored products because they are widely considered to be a starter product for future smokers,” said Supervisor Malia Cohen, who sponsored the bill.

Gregory Conley, president of the American Vaping Association, a nonprofit organization that advocates for vaping products, said the ordinance is “complete nonsense” and ignores the benefits of flavored vaping products.

“There is a great deal of evidence that flavors are critical to helping adults quit smoking by helping them disconnect from the taste of tobacco,” said Conley, who quit smoking in 2010 with the help of watermelon flavored “e-liquid,” the liquid used in electronic cigarettes.

Conley pointed to a report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released last week that found the number of high school and middle school students using e-cigarettes fell to 2.2 million last year, from 3 million the year before. The CDC also estimates that the number of middle and high school students using tobacco products fell to 3.9 million last year, from 4.7 million the year before.

“Unfortunately, San Francisco supervisors ignored that data and the stories about how vaping was the only thing that helped many smokers quit,” he said.

NAM Y. HUH — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE A man smokes an electronic cigarette in Chicago.