When it comes to my grandsons, all that matters to me is that they have a fighting chance at a happy, healthy, productive future. I can say with certainty that Connor and Henry, ages 4 and 6, don’t care that I’m a Democrat. They are unconcerned that their great-granddad is a lifelong Republican or that they have family members who have never enrolled in a political party. They love us all unconditionally, and we feel the exact same way about them.

Our children’s and grandchildren’s future health and happiness are worth fighting for. This common value, shared among parents and grandparents everywhere, is what inspired me to become a registered nurse 30 years ago, and it’s what inspires me today, serving in the Maine Legislature. Politics does not enter the equation.

Maine kids are facing so many challenges – not just the age-old challenges of growing up, but also the more recent challenges of growing up in a digital world and, in this past year, of navigating school and social networks during a pandemic.

But ask me to name another top threat to our children’s future and I won’t hesitate to answer – it’s tobacco addiction. Tobacco use is the leading cause of preventable disease and death in the United States, and it is on the rise among Maine teens. A startling one in three Maine high school students now uses some form of tobacco, including cigarettes, chewing tobacco, cigars or e-cigarettes.

Kid-friendly flavors are at the root of this resurgence. Tobacco companies have developed an array of menthol, mint, candy and dessert flavored products that attract young users and set them up for addiction. Over 15,000 flavored tobacco products are now on the market and four out of five kids who have used tobacco say they started with a flavored product. These flavors, and menthol in particular, help mask the harsh taste, making it easier to start and keep using tobacco.

As a nurse, I have seen how nicotine addiction can severely affect an individual’s long-term health, often leading to lung disease, cancer, stroke, heart disease and, too often, early death. As a policymaker, I have seen the significant burden that tobacco use places on Maine’s health care system. And it’s all completely preventable.

Developing a nicotine addiction is really possible only in young, developing brains. If you have not started smoking by age 26, it is unlikely you will ever do so. The tobacco industry knows this, of course, and has spent decades marketing products specifically designed to lure and hook youth and young adults. The math is straight forward: Without youth and young adult tobacco use, there would be virtually no tobacco-related disease and early death. That means longer, more productive lives, and it means big reductions in health care costs.

But the tobacco industry is ruthless and predatory. They target children and people with low incomes, as well as Black, brown and LGBTQ people and other marginalized communities. They are willing to do and say anything to preserve their ability to manufacture, market and sell deadly products with few limitations – products designed to lure kids into addiction.

The alarming rise of tobacco use among Maine’s children and young adults is a policy failure, plain and simple. By continuing to allow tobacco companies to peddle flavored products in our state, products that are proven to appeal to kids, we are setting up our children and grandchildren to experience adverse health outcomes and years of addiction. This is unacceptable.

But we can fight back. I’m proud to sponsor L.D. 1550, An Act To End the Sale of Flavored Tobacco Products, along with my co-sponsor, Sen. Paul Davis, R-Sangerville, and a bipartisan group of colleagues from communities all over Maine.

If this bill is passed into law, it would be a game changer for every child tempted by sweet, minty flavors and quickly caught up in addiction. There may be few other bills we have considered this year that have the potential to make such a significant impact on the health of Maine kids.

Like my two grandchildren, Maine kids don’t care about political parties, and when it comes to their future health and happiness, we shouldn’t either. Let’s stand up to tobacco industry deception and ruthless targeting of our kids and end the sale of all flavored tobacco products. Let’s give Maine’s children and young adults the healthy, tobacco-free futures they deserve.

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