Lawmakers and Advocates Call to End the Sale of All Flavored Tobacco Products in Maryland

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Legislation would remove menthol cigarettes, flavored e-cigarettes, flavored cigars, and flavored smokeless tobacco from the market​

(Annapolis, MD) –A wide-ranging coalition of advocates and organizations from across the state joined Maryland Attorney General Brian E. Frosh, Speaker Adrienne A. Jones (D-10), Delegate Dereck Davis (D-25), and Delegate Darryl Barnes (D-25) to call for a full and immediate end to the sale of all flavored tobacco products in Maryland. The gathering took place in advance of a House Economic Matters Committee hearing this afternoon on HB 3, an emergency bill that would remove all flavored tobacco products from the market, including menthol cigarettes, flavored electronic smoking devices—also known as e-cigarettes and vapes— flavored cigars, and flavored smokeless tobacco.

“Maryland has made great strides in reducing tobacco use, yet it remains the No. 1 preventable cause of premature death and disease in Maryland,” said House Speaker Adrienne A. Jones. “Now is the time to protect our young people from becoming addicted to tobacco.”

Flavored tobacco products have fueled a public health emergency in Maryland. Twenty-three percent of Maryland high school students currently use e-cigarettes, a rate five times higher than adult use. Flavored tobacco products, which come in flavors like mint or menthol, gummy bear, and cotton candy, mask the harsh taste of tobacco and lure kids into a life-long struggle with dangerous tobacco addiction. Eighty percent of teens who have ever used tobacco started with a flavored product.

“By offering menthol, fruit, and candy flavored tobacco products, companies target kids with the intent of hooking the next generation of tobacco users. Today, we have an opportunity to stop them in their tracks,” said SB 233 sponsor, Maryland Attorney General Brian E. Frosh.

For decades, the tobacco industry has aggressively targeted communities of color and the LGBTQ community with their flavored products. Eighty-five percent of all African American smokers and 7 out of 10 African American youth smokers smoke menthol cigarettes, resulting in a disproportionate burden of tobacco-related disease and death. African Americans are more likely to die from tobacco-related causes than any other race or ethnic group in the United States.

“For too long, our communities have endured the devastating health effects of tobacco as a result of the industry’s marketing of menthol products to people of color,” said bill sponsor Delegate Dereck Davis. “It’s time we address this social justice issue head-on and end the sale of all flavored tobacco, including menthol cigarettes.

“The passage of this important legislation is one of the top priorities for the Legislative Black Caucus this session,” said Caucus chairman Delegate Darryl Barnes. “We have a historic opportunity to protect our kids from tobacco addiction and improve the health of our community; we must take it.”

The U.S. Surgeon General has concluded that youth use of tobacco in any form, including e-cigarettes, is unsafe, causes addiction, and can harm adolescent brain development, which impacts attention, memory, impulse control, mood, and learning.

“On behalf of the Maryland Tobacco-Free Coalition, we applaud the bill’s sponsors and leadership in both chambers for their support of this critical next step in creating a tobacco free-generation in our lifetime, “ said Jocelyn Collins of the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network. “Ending the sale of all flavored tobacco products, with no exceptions, will protect the health of Maryland’s kids, reverse health disparities, and help prevent the deaths of 7,500 Marylanders each year due to tobacco use.”

Maryland advocates say the federal government has failed to protect kids from flavored tobacco, only restricting flavors in some types of electronic smoking devices, leaving countless flavored tobacco products—including menthol cigarettes —widely available for use by kids.

The bill is sponsored by Delegate Dereck Davis, chair of the House Economic Matters Committee. The Senate version (SB 233), sponsored by Attorney General Frosh, is under consideration by the Senate Finance Committee.

If the bill passes, Maryland would be the 2nd state in the country, after Massachusetts, to end the sale of all flavored tobacco products.

Read a fact sheet about the bill here.​
 

vraiblonde

Board Mommy
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#1, I thought Trump already banned flavored vape?

#2, yeah go ahead and ban menthol cigarettes and watch every black person in this state burn the mother to the ground.

#3, we have a rampant heroin and opiate problem in Maryland, so let's focus on banning menthol cigarettes.

#4, I am 56 years old and have to show ID when I buy cigarettes or vape products. So how are all these toddlers just waltzing into their local Wawa and buying nicotine with no questions asked?

#5, Democrats: "Smoking cigarettes is bad for you so we're gonna ban it. Have some pot instead."

:dork:

Morons.
 

MiddleGround

Well-Known Member
When are they going to ban ALL flavored alcohol products? Seems only logical according to the same reasons listed above :sshrug:

"Maryland advocates say the federal government has failed to protect kids from flavored tobacco. "

That's funny. I always thought it was the PARENT'S responsibility to protect their kids!!
 

PrchJrkr

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Including this white woman.
Word, sister! If not for menthol, a cigarette wouldn't be worth lighting. "If YOU don't like it, ban the mother ****er!" should be the MD state motto. I think I've finally got my menthol/tobacco juice blend about where I like it. Now the math starts in earnest. I guess MD didn't learn a damned thing from alcohol prohibition.
 

nutz

Well-Known Member
#4, I am 56 years old and have to show ID when I buy cigarettes or vape products. So how are all these toddlers just waltzing into their local Wawa and buying nicotine with no questions asked?

:dork:

Morons.
About right, find another way to mistreat the law abiding people because the DA laws youve already passed dont work.
 

black dog

Free America
As Ugo Gussalli Beretta, Reh told the paper, "All I can tell you is, Mr. Beretta said, 'There always seems to be a problem with Maryland.'"
 
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