Flavored tobacco products target youth
Tobacco remains the leading preventable cause of death. We should do everything we can to protect young people and fight the social injustices brought on by the tobacco industry. That’s why Oakland, San Francisco and Contra Costa County are considering restricting the sale of flavored tobacco products, including menthol cigarettes.
Menthol cigarettes are primarily targeted to African Americans, Pacific Islanders and the LGBT community. Flavored cigarillos, little cigars and juices used in e-cigarettes come in flavors like gummy bear and cotton candy, clearly marketed in a way to attract kids and addict the next generation of tobacco users. Because state law treats liquids used in e-cigarettes like tobacco, the restrictions would include menthol-flavored vaping liquids, too.
A report issued by the U.S. surgeon general last year found e-cigarette aerosol is not harmless water vapor. Rather, it contains ultra-fine particles of heavy metals, propylene glycol, tobacco-specific nitrosamines, volatile organic compounds and, of course, nicotine that can be inhaled into lungs.
Tobacco use is a pediatric epidemic. The California Medical Association reports menthol and other flavors are “starter” products that greatly appeal to youth. In fact, more than 80 percent of kids who try tobacco start with a product bathed in flavorings. And, now, it is easier than ever for the tobacco industry to camouflage the harm of nicotine in the flavored “juices” sold for e-cigarettes, which is why it’s not surprising that teen ecigarette use is so high. The flavorings set a seductive lure that entraps youth into a potential lifetime nicotine dependency.
According to the National Youth Tobacco Survey, in 2011 only 1.5 percent of high school students used e-cigarettes compared with 16 percent by 2015. But even among young adults, it’s not just former smokers who use e-cigarettes. Between the ages of 18 and 24, 40 percent of e-cigarette users had never been cigarette smokers, according to the U.S. surgeon general’s report.
Menthol in cigarettes not only masks the taste — it numbs the burn of breathing in smoke. The anesthetizing effect allows tobacco users to inhale deeply, causing harmful particles to settle deeper in the lungs. Studies show mentholflavored tobacco products increase the amount of addictive nicotine in the blood, making it more difficult to quit. In a tragic and unjust twist, menthol products are marketed disproportionately to communities of color, which is why more than 80 percent of African Americans who smoke, smoke menthol and have higher rates of tobacco-related deaths.
A new report sounds alarms about the explosion and threat of sweet-flavored tobacco products. “The Flavor Trap: How Tobacco Companies Are Luring Kids with Candy-Flavored E-Cigarettes and Cigars” was a collaborative effort that included the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, American Heart Association, American Lung Association and the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids.
These same groups have joined the African American Tobacco Control Leadership Council and Breathe California to support efforts by Oakland, San Francisco and Contra Costa County to enact tobacco flavoring restrictions. If you care about young people, then contact your county supervisor or city council member and tell them to vote to restrict flavored tobacco products in our communities.