Denying the connection between flavored tobacco products and the continuing crisis of teen tobacco addiction is irresponsible and fuels the addiction further.

Recently I read a column in the Portland Press Herald, on behalf of the Maine Energy Marketers Association (Maine Voices, March 26), claiming that ending the sale of flavored tobacco products won’t prevent children from using products like vape. That thought process is dangerous. Four out of five teen tobacco users say they got hooked on tobacco by first using a flavored product.

As a gateway to addiction, flavored tobacco products lure adolescents into a false sense of security. The original flavored tobacco product – menthol cigarettes – makes it easier to start, is harder to quit and is incredibly deadly. Flavored e-cigarettes are not harmless vapor. They contain huge levels of addictive nicotine that can hook youth to a lifetime of addiction.

Flavors entice adolescents to try tobacco in the first place. Flavored tobacco masks the harsh tobacco taste, often with sweet dessert-like flavors irresistible to children, mimicking popular candies and soft drinks like fruit punch. The flavors are nearly impossible to quit. As long as any flavored products remain on the market, youth will find a way to get them.

The reasons to end the sale of flavored tobacco are endless, and efforts to do so in Maine are underway. The Legislature should pass L.D. 1550, An Act to End The Sale of Flavored Tobacco, throughout the entire state of Maine this session – and ensure a healthy future for Maine’s children.

Seth Benoit
Westbrook

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