On Tuesday, June 15, the Council of the District of Columbia (Council) is reading a bill that would ban the sale of all flavored tobacco products.
This ban would apply across the full spectrum of tobacco products, including combustible, non-combustible and electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS). Notably, the Council is skipping a public hearing on this bill, which is a departure from standard processes.
While the bill may be well-intentioned, banning all flavored products is not an effective harm reduction approach to tobacco control. Although there are potential public health gains from banning flavored tobacco products, there are also potential unintended consequences. The Council should consider all the possible outcomes and recognize that regulation of flavored products is already progressing through the federal government. Further, the Council should hear from its constituents about how a flavor ban will impact them. By skipping the public hearing of this bill, the Council is not listening to the true experts: people who will be directly impacted by the flavor ban.
Flavor bans have unintended consequences
If we have learned anything from alcohol and cannabis, it is that prohibition does not stop people from using banned products. For flavored tobacco products, there is some evidence that people will continue to access their preferred product through illicit markets following a ban. For example, one study examining long-term e-cigarette users found that 50 percent of participants indicated that they would “find a way” to access their preferred products. For some, this may mean buying online, for others it may mean turning to illicit markets. As we saw with the outbreak of e-cigarette, or vaping, product use-associated lung injury (EVALI) that was caused by illicit THC vaping cartridges, unregulated products have the potential to cause severe health problems for users. It stands to reason that banning all flavored tobacco products could result in similar harms as consumers seek out illicit, unregulated versions of their preferred flavored products.
Chelsea Boyd – RStreet – 2021-06-13.
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