Debate Over Ban on Flavored Tobacco Products and E-Cigarettes

Mango Pineapple. Blue Razz Lemonade. Strawberry Banana.

These names may evoke images of a candy aisle, but they are just a part of the rapidly growing 15,000 electronic cigarette products that have been widely used since a decade ago. Spend time in any high school and you may find students secretly vaping sweet treats from electronic nicotine delivery systems.

However, those days may be few and far between in New Brunswick.

On April 4th, the city council of Brunswick will hold a public hearing on a proposed ordinance banning the sale of all flavored tobacco products, including flavored electronic cigarette cartridges and menthol cigarettes. The ordinance is set to take effect on June 1st.

This legislation will make Brunswick the third city in Maine, following Portland and Bangor, to ban these products. Advocates of the proposal hope that this will encourage legislators in Augusta to pass a statewide ban later this summer.

However, despite support from a plethora of organizations including the American Heart Association, Maine Public Health Association, and Christian Civic League, some prominent researchers are concerned that this measure is misguided and even hazardous. They worry that it may harm public health by promoting more smoking among both young and elderly individuals.

Abigail Friedman, associate professor of Health Policy at the Yale School of Public Health, said, "Anyone who portrays this issue as black and white has an obvious answer - the problem is too simplified. I know this is not what advocates want to hear, but it is not that simple.

Protecting children.

Kathy E. Wilson, the town councilor behind the proposed legislation, is intimately familiar with the struggle against nicotine addiction.

I cannot spend the night without cigarettes," she recalled a 40-year-old habit of smoking three packs a day. "I used to wake up in the middle of the night, every night at 2 a.m. I had to smoke a cigarette before going back to sleep.

Today, Wilson hopes to prevent the tobacco industry from appealing to the next generation as they have appealed to her.

I have talked to teachers," she said. "I have talked to nurses, doctors, and hospital personnel. If we don't ban it, we are actively contributing to the deaths of our young people.

BJ McCollister of Portland stated that the figures speak for themselves. He is the campaign manager for Flavors Hook Kids Maine, an organization pushing for a statewide ban on flavored products.

According to the 2019 comprehensive survey on youth health in Maine, 45% of high school students in the state reported having tried vaping at least once, while 29% said they had vaped in the past 30 days.

According to the 2021 National Youth Tobacco Survey, approximately 85% of American high school students who use e-cigarettes prefer flavored products.

Teresa Gillis, who has served two terms on the Brunswick school board, stated that her goal is to protect children. "I am not working to promote smoking cessation," she said, "I am working to prevent fifth-grade students from taking their first puff." Contribution/Teresa Gillis.

Now, Maine is falling far behind because the tobacco industry is attracting another generation of smokers," said McCollister. "Legislators must take action.

Although it is already illegal to sell tobacco products to anyone under the age of 21, it is without a doubt that high school and even middle school students have access to them, according to Teresa Gillis, a member of the former Brunswick school board and current coordinator of the Maine Flavors Hook Kids Brunswick campaign. She hopes to ban the sale of all flavored products which she claims are specifically designed to entice children, which would limit their spread in schools.

They are peddling this to children, which is completely unethical and wrong," said Gillis. "The bottom line is to stop them before the next generation begins.

Low-fatality option.

However, some researchers are concerned that banning electronic cigarette products may actually harm public health.

The flavor ban may reduce children's use of e-cigarettes, which I hope they do," said Kenneth Warner, a public health professor and former dean at the University of Michigan School of Public Health. "However, it may also reduce adult use of e-cigarettes, which means more adults will continue to smoke and more adults will continue to die.

According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, although smoking rates have decreased, it remains the leading cause of preventable deaths in the United States. Approximately 480,000 Americans die each year from smoking-related illnesses.

Warner says that scientists are not exactly sure how dangerous e-cigarettes are, but they generally believe that e-cigarettes are healthier than combustible cigarettes.

He stated that the public and even many doctors overestimate the risks of electronic cigarette products, partly due to over 60 deaths linked to e-cigarettes in 2019. However, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention attributed these deaths to additives found in some cannabis products, rather than nicotine-containing e-cigarettes.

Although proponents of the ban argue that users of e-cigarettes are more likely to try smoking, Warner points out that since the popularity of e-cigarettes among high school students began around 2014, the number of youth smokers has actually declined at the fastest rate. According to data from the CDC, in 2019, 5.8% of high school students reported smoking in the past 30 days, down from 12.7% in 2013.

He said that these data are completely inconsistent with the idea that e-cigarettes are increasing smoking.

Friedman stated that by pushing people away from e-cigarettes, lawmakers may be encouraging users, including teenagers, to turn to more dangerous combustible products. He referenced an article recently published in Value Health that connected statewide bans on e-cigarettes and flavors to an increase in cigarette purchases.

If you take away one option, people will choose another option," she said. "The external option they may pursue could be worse than what you took away, so careful consideration is needed.

Constructing a Debate Framework

Flavored tobacco products were exhibited at Primo Glass in the province of Brunswick. Reported by John TeHoon.

According to researchers like Friedman and Warner, using electronic cigarettes can make it easier to quit more dangerous combustible products.

However, why is it important to simply ban products with fruit and candy flavors for potential smokers when they can still obtain e-cigarette products with tobacco flavors?

According to Alex Clark, CEO of the advocacy group for former smokers and non-combustible alternatives, flavored e-cigarette products are helpful because they can assist users in avoiding triggers associated with their old habits, including the smell and taste of tobacco.

That scent, that olfactory experience, is actually one of the strongest triggers to bring back memories of something," he said. "Trying to get people to only use tobacco flavor actually puts them at a disadvantage.

According to Friedman, while consumers may associate fruit flavors with teenagers, adults also prefer these products. By decreasing the appeal of e-cigarettes, lawmakers may prevent smokers from switching to safer alternatives.

According to Friedman, randomized controlled trials and meta-analyses have linked regular use of electronic cigarettes with an increased likelihood of quitting smoking. Therefore, it is entirely possible that there may be a genuine difference in the success rate of quitting smoking with flavored electronic cigarettes versus tobacco-flavored ones.

The science surrounding e-cigarettes is still relatively new, causing the public health community to face challenges in several areas.

Warner, of the University of Michigan, believes that some anti-e-cigarette advocates have exaggerated the number of teenagers addicted to nicotine. The Maine Public Health Association argued last year that a study linking the San Francisco ban to an increase in smoking rates was flawed.

The crux of the issue lies in a question that science may not be capable of answering: Should our priority be to keep healthy young adults away from nicotine or to assist addicted adults in quitting their most dangerous habit?

I am concerned that people involved in politics do not care about those who choose to smoke today," said Warner, as he noted that an disproportionate number of smokers are low-income earners, members of minority groups, and individuals with mental illnesses. "They do not care about them, even though they are the ones paying the price.

Although they may not agree with this assessment, Wilson and her allies did not shy away from the fact that Brunswick's teenagers were the focus of their attention.

It is the responsibility of adults to protect them," said Wilson, who hopes that the city council will implement a ban. "As for adults who want to use it, frankly, that is not my concern or problem.

She paused for a moment and then added a final amendment, "I hope they can also withdraw.

(Source: Coast Magazine)