Ban Flavored Tobacco Sales

The bill would also prohibit enforcement agents, police officers, peace officers, or other law enforcement officers from stopping, questioning, searching, or arresting any person on grounds of or in relation to possession, consumption, or purchase of any flavored tobacco product, or for the purpose of inquiring or determining how or from what person or entity the person obtained a flavored tobacco product.

Section two of the bill establishes the effective date.

Justification

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), smoking is the leading cause of preventable death in the United States, as cigarette smoking is responsible for more than 480,000 deaths per year. The CDC also adds, "If smoking continues at the current rate among U.S. youth, 5.6 million of today's Americans younger than 18 years of age are expected to die prematurely from a smoking-related illness."

Though federal law prohibits the sale of almost all flavored cigarettes, it does not prohibit the sale of menthol cigarettes, and does not restrict flavored tobacco products other than cigarettes. This inaction has permitted tobacco products to remain appealing to young people and adults alike, despite their devastating health impacts.

People of color have been particularly targeted by tobacco companies pushing menthol cigarettes. For decades, these companies have spent millions of dollars on advertisements, sponsorships, and promotions targeted towards communities predominantly composed of people of color.

In fact, research shows that areas with larger Black and Latinx popu- lations have more tobacco retailers, and retailers in those areas are more likely to display exterior tobacco advertisements. A 2013 study by researchers affiliated with Stanford University also found that Afri- can-American youth were three times more likely than others to recognize the Newport brand, a leading manufacturer of menthol cigarettes.

Unfortunately, this predatory, intentional targeting has been success- ful. Today, 85% of African-American smokers use menthol cigarettes, which is nearly three times the rate of white smokers (29%). That's up from just 5% in the 1950s. The highest rates of menthol cigarette smok- ing in the U.S. are among African-American youth ages 12-17 (about 7 in 10, according to the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids). And alarmingly, data shows that African-American and Latino menthol smokers successfully quit at a lower rate than non-menthol smokers in their same ethnic groups. This is a major reason why the NAACP has vocally supported banning the sale of menthol cigarettes for years.

According to the Public Health Law Center, reports commissioned by the FDA have concluded that "removing menthol from all commercial tobacco products would benefit the public's health and save thousands of lives, 33 to 50 percent of which would be African American." The Center also notes that "at least half of all teen smokers use menthol tobacco products," and "menthol cigarettes are used at disproportionately higher rates by racial and ethnic minority smokers."

Research also shows that the LGBTQ community is also significantly more likely to smoke menthol cigarettes, as more than 36% of LGBT smokers report primarily smoking menthols. When paired with other tobacco indus- try targeting, this has resulted in disproportionately high rates of smoking among LBGTQ individuals, particularly transgender individuals.

This targeting has real-life health consequences for hundreds of thou- sands of New Yorkers. The New York State Department of Health notes that the use of tobacco products takes nearly 30,000 New Yorkers' lives per year and costs us $10.4 billion in health care expenses and billions more in lost workplace productivity.

According to the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, more than 290 locali- ties across the country have restricted the sale of flavored tobacco products in some form, and at least 100 communities "restrict the sale of menthol cigarettes, in addition to other flavored tobacco products."

Most notably, Massachusetts became the first state to enact a complete ban on the sale of all flavored tobacco products, including menthol cigarettes and flavored e-cigarettes, which took effect in June 2020. California followed suit by enacting similar legislation in August 2020.

New York State government must do everything in its power to diminish the appeal of tobacco products and encourage smoking cessation, while ensuring that individual New Yorkers aren't subjected to increased, unnecessary interactions with law enforcement personnel.

Importantly, this bill would not apply to the possession of such flavored tobacco products, and contains language specifically prohibit- ing law enforcement from stopping, questioning, searching, or arresting people based on their possession, consumption, or purchase of flavored tobacco products.

New York took bold action to protect public health and reduce children's exposure to tobacco products by banning the sale of flavored vapor products in the FY 2020-21 Enacted Budget. While that was a landmark step, we must go further to discourage tobacco use and remedy the historical inequities and negative health impacts to communities of color and other populations caused by the tobacco industry.

This bill would make New York a national leader in discouraging tobacco usage by prohibiting the retail sale of all flavored tobacco products and accessories, including menthol flavors.

Legislative history

New Bill

Fiscal implications

To be determined.

Effective date

This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amendment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implementation of this act on its effective date are authorized to be made and completed on or before such effective date.