Sacramento County Could Ban Flavored E-cigarettes, Menthol Under Proposed Ordinance

Sacramento County supervisors could be discussing a ban on flavored tobacco products, including e-cigarette juice and menthol cigarettes, by the end of this year.

Supervisor Patrick Kennedy joined health advocates and physicians Thursday to introduce the proposal.

“Ending the sale of all candy-flavored tobacco products, including minty menthol, will save lives,” he said. “And that’s why we will push hard to pass the ordinance I am proposing to the county supervisors with a sense of urgency.”

Health advocates and pediatricians say flavored vaporizer juice is designed to get teens addicted to nicotine. A UC San Diego analysis of state data found that in Sacramento County, 90% of kids who smoke use a flavored product. Advocates also point to targeted marketing of menthol cigarettes to African Americans as a reason to ban all flavored tobacco products.

Manufacturers of e-cigarette  and liquid have come under legal fire in recent years for marketing to children, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has tried to crack down on the trend.

California passed a ban on flavored tobacco in 2020, but it never took effect because tobacco companies filed a referendum, which will be on the ballot in 2022.

Dr. Lynn Silver, a senior advisor with health advocacy organization Public Health Institute, says local jurisdictions have had to take the issue on themselves. More than 100 California cities and counties have passed flavored tobacco bans, according to the Tobacco Free Kids campaign.

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Originally published by Capital Public Radio