Cotton candy, chewing gum and popcorn are all sweet things that kids like. But did you know that tobacco companies add these flavors to their products to attract young people? According to the Journal of the American Medical Association, most teen smokers start by consuming these flavored tobacco products such as menthol cigarettes, chocolate hookas, and strawberry sweets.
Tobacco companies are targeting our youth with products that taste sweet, mint and fruit, and we have to do something to prevent it. These flavors make young people more likely to start smoking, and the sweet type packaging of these products is aimed at children and adolescents. E-cigarettes, in particular, come in many flavors like gummy bear, horchata, chicken and waffle, and silly, aimed at young consumers, especially minority groups. The affordability of their prices are an obvious hook for the younger ones. A pack of cigarettes can cost $ 5 to $ 8, while a pack of flavored cigars can be commonly found in San Francisco for 50 cents – just the affordable price for a teenager!
Flavored tobacco has negative effects similar to regular tobacco, but can be more addictive. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, menthol cigarette smokers are less likely to quit than ordinary cigarette smokers. Also, extensive research shows that flavors are a key reason why teens start using electronic cigarettes, and that non-smoking adolescents, who start consuming vaping, are more likely to smoke regular cigarettes a year earlier.
At the Breathe California E-NUFF Project, we examined 150 high school students in San Francisco. We found that two-thirds of students who used marijuana cigarettes preferred flavored blunts, and that half of students who used electronic cigarettes preferred flavored electronic cigarettes. The most common response to why they thought their peers were using flavored tobacco was that it tastes good. Almost 90 percent of students who thought that flavored tobacco products were harmful also thought that stores should stop selling it. We also ran an adult focus group at Bayview on flavored tobacco and youth, and one participant noted remarkably, «Young people who use these products … do not have to wait until they turn 21.
The E-NUFF project wants San Francisco to adopt a policy that protects young people by putting an end to the sale of flavored tobacco. In 2009, Congress banned almost all flavors of cigarettes, but failed to end the sale of mentholates and other flavors. This policy would close that gap in San Francisco and make sure cigarette companies can not point to children by offering flavors in any tobacco product. Tobacco use will be reduced among San Francisco youth, especially among minority groups, the disadvantaged, and low-income groups who are a strong target of the tobacco industry.
Nearby, Santa Clara County has canceled the sale of flavored tobacco for all its areas, and Oakland is now considering similar regulations. New York, Chicago, Minneapolis, Providence, RI and Berkeley, have already passed laws that tightly restrict it. San Francisco, a city known for effective health and social justice policies, must join these leading cities and counties by ending the sale of this type of tobacco.
Flavors mask the taste of tobacco, but not the negative effects on health. Join the cause and support the efforts of the E-NUFF Project at ggbreathe.org/enuff.
Christopher Schouest
Victoria Laleau
Athina Leyba
Michelle Wu
Charles Ramilo
Randy Uang
Annam Janjua
Christelle Etienne
-Translation, Katie Beas
