BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — All flavored tobacco products could soon be banned in the state of New York.
The legislation, included in the Governor’s state budget would end the sale of menthol cigarettes, flavored cigars and cigarillos, and flavored smokeless tobacco. It expands the state’s ban on the sale of flavored vaping products.
“It’s incredibly harmful,” said Andrew Hyland, Chair of the Department of Health Behavior at Roswell Park. “Three in every cancer deaths we see have to do with cigarette smoke.”
Hyland says marketing for the flavored tobacco products targets kids.
“Studies show kids who start with menthol products continue to be a tobacco user,” he said.
In 2020, the state banned the sale of flavored vaping products, a common substitution for cigarettes, but left the flavored menthol products on the shelves.
“It’s the menthol cigarettes that people use,” Hyland said. “There’s about 3/4 of a million menthol cigarette smokers in NYS, and eliminating that would be a game changer.”
The legislation would also add $1 to the tax of cigarette products in New York State.
All of these measures are not sitting well with those who sell these products.
The New York Association of Convenience Stores say:
“Prohibition will have no impact on smoking rates but will instead hurt small retailers and drive consumers to nearby states, Native Reservations, and the thriving underground market,” said Kent Sopris, President of the New York Association of Convenience Stores. “It is additionally disingenuous for the state to propose banning flavored tobacco while publicly touting the sale of grapefruit, pineapple, and tropical cannabis vaping products."
The group also says the banning of these products would affect job growth.
