I am disappointed to see legislation proposing a statewide ban on flavored tobacco, including menthol products. Bans are paternalistic, ineffective at significantly preventing use and fail to directly address the root causes of addiction.

Proponents of the ban claim that flavors are the primary driver of why young people start vaping. According to 2021 CDC survey results, the primary reason youth initiate e-cigarette use is curiosity, which is followed by peer influence or family members. Less than 15% of young people cite flavors as the reason they started using e-cigarettes.

E-cigarette flavors are, however, positively associated with smoking cessation for adults. This ban would eliminate a harm reduction tool that is helping adults quit smoking. Dr. Nancy Rigotti, a Harvard medical professor, in a very recent editorial published in the New England Journal of Medicine, said that the burdens of tobacco-related diseases are so high that e-cigarettes should not be eliminated as a solution.

I think most reasonable people would agree that we should work hard to prevent youth tobacco use. However, bans do not deliver the drug-free society they promise. A study examining 170 menthol bans indicated that only 25% of smokers quit following a menthol ban. The other 75% switched to non-menthol products, found another way to find menthol cigarettes, or switched to other flavors.

Legislators should consider more middle-of-the-road policy solutions that balance reducing youth tobacco use with ensuring that adults can access effective smoking cessation tools.

Legislators should reject L.D. 1215.

Tess Parks
Portland

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