Massachusetts is experiencing the aftershocks of menthol prohibition.
In 2020, the Bay State became the first in the country to enact a ban on menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars, smokeless tobacco and vaping products.
As such, it’s a real-life case study of the potential impacts of a proposed federal menthols ban. And while research on smoking rates currently raises as many questions as answers, the escalation of nicotine law enforcement is beyond dispute.
Almost three years into the Massachusetts ban, some apparently contradictory things are unfolding. One study found that sales of all cigarettes by licensed retailers declined by almost 33 percent. Proponents of the ban believe this is proof that it works.
But the inconvenient truth is, people who want menthol cigarettes can buy them in the bordering states of Connecticut, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island and Vermont. “In the 12-month period following the comprehensive flavor ban in Massachusetts, the state sold 29.96 million fewer cigarette packs compared to the prior period,” reported a preliminary study on this question. “However, a total of 33.36 million additional cigarette packs were sold during the same post-ban period in the counties that bordered Massachusetts.”
And if travel to another state isn’t an option, “sophisticated tobacco smuggling operations” are now serving Massachusetts, according to a new report by the state’s Multi-Agency Illegal Tobacco Task Force. The expanding “tobacco diversion” law enforcement bureaucracy has ramped up its operations. State police and the Department of Revenue’s Criminal Investigations Bureau (CIB) are increasing inspections and seizing more illegal, untaxed products.
The underground, cross-border market is thriving, just as opponents of prohibition predicted.
In one example cited by the report, “The CIB executed an administrative search warrant and conducted an inspection of an unlicensed tobacco distributor…and seized a large quantity of untaxed ENDS [electronic nicotine delivery system] products, OTP [other tobacco products] and Newport Menthol cigarettes affixed with New Hampshire excise tax stamps.” It appears that the Task Force—so far—is targeting distributors, retailers and organized smugglers, rather than individuals in possession.
The underground, cross-border market for flavored vapes and menthol cigarettes is thriving, just as opponents of prohibition predicted. Law enforcement has confiscated huge amounts of illegal products, “resulting in a strain on the Task Force’s storage capacity.” The Task Force is also trying to figure out how to “safely and lawfully dispose of ENDS products.” In an ironic twist, it will destroy large quantities of vastly safer vapes while combustible cigarettes remain legal and on sale everywhere.
Helen Redmond – Filter – 2023-03-15.
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