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No more menthol cigarettes: New ban on tobacco, vape flavors

BOSTON — Massachusetts became the first state to ban the sale of flavored tobacco and vaping products, including menthol cigarettes, after the Republican governor signed a bill Wednesday that responds to recent deaths linked to e-cigarettes and attempts to reduce their appeal to young people.

Anti-smoking groups hailed the ban signed by Gov. Charlie Baker, which outlaws the sale of flavored vaping products immediately and of menthol cigarettes starting June 1, 2020.

Some states have temporarily banned or restricted flavored tobacco or vaping products to different degrees, but Massachusetts is the first state with a permanent ban in place, anti-smoking groups say. Especially notable is its ban on menthol, which is among the most popular flavors and has often been exempted from bans.

The bill is a “major step forward,” Baker said, but states can do only so much to address the public health emergency around e-cigarettes and other vaping products. The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration are the only ones that can address the issues comprehensively, he said.

"The bill we signed today goes a long way toward restricting access to the most addictive kinds of nicotine and vaping products. It also provides the Department of Public Health with clear authority to regular the sale of nicotine vaping products to protect the public health as the department continues to work," Baker said.

President Donald Trump has promised for months to approve a national ban on most flavored e-cigarettes. But in recent weeks his administration canceled a planned announcement of a ban, and Trump has said he will meet with the vaping industry and medical professionals instead.

“It’s pretty clear there isn’t going to be a federal policy on this anytime soon,” Baker said Wednesday. “So in the absence of that, we had to act.”

The New England Convenience Store and Energy Marketers Association, which had opposed the legislation, said in a statement the ban will disproportionately affect communities of color and cost the state hundreds of millions of dollars in tax revenue.

Studies have shown menthol cigarettes are consumed disproportionately by young people and minorities, and anti-tobacco groups and health experts have argued menthol has been marketed in particular to African Americans.

The law’s new restrictions on flavored tobacco products are important because they have helped the traditional smoking market grow and led to the flavored vaping products popular with youths, state Attorney General Maura Healey said.

“This is not a nanny state effort,” said Healey, a Democrat. “This is a significant public health effort.”

Tony Abboud, Executive Director of the Vapor Technology Association told Boston 25 News the "flavor ban" won't work:

"A flavor ban is simply the wrong policy -- bans don't work, they never have. The Vapor Technology Association's "21 & Done!" plan proposes real solutions, including raising the age to 21, implementing 21 specific marketing restrictions, requiring third-party age verification technology at retail, and a 'three strikes and you're out' penalty scheme for retailers.

A ban will drive people back to combustible cigarettes, the leading cause of preventable death and disease in the U.S., or lead to illegal sales with a new and larger black market. VTA stands ready to continue working with the State of Massachusetts on effective regulations and real solutions that will achieve the twin goals of restricting youth vaping, which is already illegal, and preserving flavored vapor as an alternative for adult consumers desperately trying to quit smoking, without ruining the livelihoods of the workers that the State's regulated nicotine-vapor products industry employs."

The American Cancer Society’s Cancer Action Network said it hoped the new law would send a message to an industry accused of using flavored products to introduce teenagers to smoking.

“More than 80% of teens who have ever used a tobacco product started with a flavored product, and the tobacco industry knows this,” the organization said in an emailed statement.

Matthew Myers, president of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, called it “a critical step to help end the worsening youth e-cigarette epidemic and stop tobacco companies from using appealing flavors to lure kids into a lifetime of addiction.”

The law places a 75% excise tax on vaping products and require health insurers, including the state’s Medicaid program, to cover tobacco cessation counseling.

The legislation responds to growing concern about the health effects of vaping products, including deaths whose exact cause is still being investigated.

Vaporzone owner Behram Agha says his financial losses are piling up.

"I've lost more than a million," he told us. "Still we have to work on the damage control that this ban has caused us."

Then there's the tax, that will be passed on to consumers.

"If a product was $10, now it will be somewhere between $15-$17," said Agha.

In September, Baker had declared a public health emergency and ordered a temporary ban on the sale of all vaping products — flavored and unflavored.

Agha has been forced to close two stores. He's among numerous shop owners suing the state. While some vape shops have closed because of the ban, others are staying open by diversifying. Wicked Vaped has added tea to the shelves.

"Tea is something I've been doing since 2004 and I'm passionate about it, something I've always wanted to try and now I definitely have the shelf space so there it is," said Ian Devine, Wicked Vaped owner.

Devine says he's lost $100,000 due to the ban and says the new law will decimate the local industry, driving people back to the black markets and other states.

Baker said Wednesday he’ll keep that ban in place until Dec. 11 while his administration drafts additional regulations.

Boston 25 News reporter Evan White and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

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