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Group proposes ban on flavored tobacco products

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You are the owner of this article.You have permission to edit this article.A group of state lawmakers and community advocates are proposing a ban on flavored tobacco products.HARTFORD, CT (WFSB) - A group of state lawmakers and community advocates are proposing a ban on flavored tobacco products.Public Health Committee co-chairs Sen. Mary Daugherty Abrams and Rep. Johnathan Steinberg were joined by Kevin O'Flaherty from the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids and Nichola Hall from the Bridgeport NAACP to announce the legislation on Tuesday morning.The ban would involve all flavored tobacco products.They said the proposed legislation was similar in scope to a bill in 2020 that stated “no distributor or dealer shall sell, offer for sale, display for sale or possess with intent to sell any flavored cigarette or flavored tobacco product.”Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey and Rhode Island have already banned the sale of flavored tobacco products. Massachusetts, California, and more than 100 cities nationwide have banned the sale of all flavored tobacco products, including menthol cigarettes.Abrams said the new legislation will protect children across the state from the predatory practice of luring children into tobacco use through flavored products."It is incredibly important that we address this public health crisis now," Abrams said. "Prior to the global pandemic, we were prepared to pass this legislation. Now as we continue to address COVID-19, it is even more timely and necessary that we address this crisis and protect our state's young people from these harmful products. We must act this session, as action will save lives."The group said tobacco companies have long used flavored products to attract kids, starting with menthol cigarettes and now continuing with e-cigarettes.According to the 2020 National Youth Tobacco Survey, the lamakers cited that youth usage of electronic cigarettes was still a public health crisis and "increased dramatically" from 2011 with 3.6 million youths still using e-cigarettes.They claimed flavors were a big reason.&nbsp;"The pandemic has reminded us that the public health can be quite fragile, requiring proactive efforts to protect our citizens," Steinberg said. "It's time that we act to end the sale of all tobacco flavors, which can prove dangerous to one's health as well as potentially leading young people on the path to addiction."The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that for users of e-cigarettes, inhaling the products can&nbsp;Eighty-five percent of Black smokers use menthol tobacco products compared to the less than 10 percent that did in the 1950s."How many more black lives should the tobacco companies take from us? The loss of one life is devastating but losing 45,000 Black American lives per year should have everyone committed to making an immediate change," Hall said. "Most importantly, these deaths are preventable. The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids states since the 1950's Black smoker's use of menthol tobacco products increased from 10% to 85%; statistics do not lie; but the tobacco companies do. They strategically and successfully target our young people with menthol cigarettes, which they know are easier to start and harder to quit. It’s time for Connecticut to stop the sales of these flavored products, and to pull up the ladder of addiction that has destroyed lives, families, and our community for far too long."Copyright 2021 WFSB (Meredith Corporation). All rights reserved.×××Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd,racist or sexually-oriented language.PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.Don't Threaten. Threats of harming anotherperson will not be tolerated.Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyoneor anything.Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ismthat is degrading to another person.Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link oneach comment to let us know of abusive posts.Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitnessaccounts, the history behind an article.

You are the owner of this article.You have permission to edit this article.A group of state lawmakers and community advocates are proposing a ban on flavored tobacco products.HARTFORD, CT (WFSB) - A group of state lawmakers and community advocates are proposing a ban on flavored tobacco products.Public Health Committee co-chairs Sen. Mary Daugherty Abrams and Rep. Johnathan Steinberg were joined by Kevin O'Flaherty from the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids and Nichola Hall from the Bridgeport NAACP to announce the legislation on Tuesday morning.The ban would involve all flavored tobacco...

Group proposes ban on flavored tobacco products

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