Alex T. Boehnke is the executive director of The Ohio Energy & Convenience Association and Beth Wymer is the executive director of the Ohio Wholesale Marketers Association.
Columbus City Council is considering a citywide ban on the sales of flavored tobacco products at local convenience stores, grocery stores, and tobacco shops inside the city limits.
Michael Coleman: Menthol cigarettes nearly took my life. It’s time to ban selling them here
A sweeping ordinance that makes it more difficult for adult tobacco customers to buy their preferred tobacco and vape may seem like a good way to stop people from using these products.
But that idea simply doesn’t work in the real world.
Wherever state and local governments pass these bans, customers go to the closest community where those products continue to be sold.
Stephanie Hightower:‘Flavors set the hook, nicotine reels them in.’ Teens take the bait of vaping. |Opinion
For example, industry experts studied the effects of Massachusetts’ flavored tobacco sales ban in 2020. They found that sales of menthol cigarettes and flavored e-cigarettes predictably decreased in the state but nearly doubled in New Hampshire, where the products are still legally sold.
That’s what will happen in Columbus. Thousands of customers will visit one of the nearly 800 other tobacco retailers within five miles of the city limits. Thousands more will simply get their products online. Or, they may also get them illegally from the illicit market where there is no regulatory oversight, and buying tainted cigarettes and e-cigarettes is a risk.
Furthermore, this ban could displace hundreds of local jobs. A detailed study on cigarette sales in Columbus found that for every $8.33 in cigarettes purchased, buyers bought $6.87 in non-tobacco products like milk, eggs, gas, and prepared foods. Columbus retailers have $162 million in product sales at risk due to the proposed ban. These businesses will be decimated.
With cigarette smoking at an all-time low, this legislation targets a false crisis. Thanks to decades of education programs and campaigns, teen smoking has essentially been wiped out (.38% report frequent use).
Adult use of traditional, combustible cigarettes is at historic lows (12.5% in 2020). That’s a significant decrease from the 1970s when youth and adult use was 37%. An analysis of data provided in the 2021 National Youth Tobacco Survey released this year shows underage menthol use has been steadily declining nationwide and is now virtually non-existent: over 99% of all youth do not smoke menthol cigarettes.
Columbus City Council is considering a citywide ban on the sales of flavored tobacco products at local convenience stores, grocery stores, and tobacco shops inside the city limits.
Alex T. Boehnke and Beth Wymer – The Columbus Dispatch – 2022-10-24.
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