Category: Flavors

  • Governor Scott may Veto Vermont Flavor Ban Bill

    Governor Scott may Veto Vermont Flavor Ban Bill

    Credit: Andy Dean

    The Vermont House and Senate have agreed to a bill banning the sale of flavored tobacco and e-cigarette products.

    However, the legislation faces a possible veto from Gov. Phil Scott.

    Backers of the ban say the state spends roughly $400 million a year to treat tobacco-related illnesses and that the tobacco industry targets younger smokers with fruit-flavored vaping products and BIPOC adults with menthol cigarettes.

    It’s estimated that the ban could result in a $15 million loss in state tax revenue, which Scott is concerned about.

    At a recent press conference, he also said the bill is inconsistent with state law, which allows the sale of flavored alcohol and cannabis products, according to media reports.

    “So it just seems like we’re not being fair about this in some respects. I mean, we already do it in some, many areas,” Scott said. “If it’s $15 million that we stand to lose by putting this ban into place, I think we better reflect on that.”

    Supporters of the bill argue that the revenue loss will be offset by the huge savings in health care costs associated with the ban.

  • Vermont Lawmakers Pass Flavor Ban, Moves to Senate

    Vermont Lawmakers Pass Flavor Ban, Moves to Senate

    Credit: Rabbit75_fot

    Vermont lawmakers Friday approved a ban on flavored vaping and other flavored tobacco products.

    S.18 would end retail sales of all flavored e-cigarettes, e-liquids, and oral nicotine pouches. The bill would also end the sale of all menthol-flavored tobacco products, including cigarettes, cigars, pipe tobacco, and smokeless tobacco, by January 1st, 2026.

    The legislation, which has been debated for at least six years, faced a fierce lobbying campaign from retailers who said it would put many out of business. Some lawmakers have also balked at the loss of millions in tax revenue, according to media reports.

    But supporters say the adverse health impacts on young people who get hooked on the products are just too great. Lawmakers spoke on the House floor Thursday about the extensive testimony from medical professionals, educators, parents, and members of the BIPOC community in support of the bill.

    The bill will now return to the Senate, which passed a different version of the bill last year. The governor has not yet indicated if he will sign it.

  • Protestors Want Veto of Florida Flavor Ban, Registry

    Protestors Want Veto of Florida Flavor Ban, Registry

    Credit: Kristina Blokhin

    Supporters of less harmful nicotine products want Florida Governor Ron DeSantis to again veto a proposed ban on the sale of flavored e-cigarettes in Florida. The legislation would also create a vape registry for the state.

    “It would kill our local businesses,” said Gary Eliasov-Hodes, managing partner of Cloud Smoke Shop, which has two locations in Tallahassee.

    Seventy percent of his business revenue comes from selling flavored nicotine vaping devices, he said. That’s $3.5 million annually for both of his shops, according to media reports.

    On Thursday, Eliasov-Hodes was among about 200 people gathered outside the governor’s mansion to protest the proposed ban, which they say they want Gov. Ron DeSantis to veto.

    The legislation would prohibit stores from selling flavored e-cigarettes, instead they would be allowed to sell from a list of 23 different tobacco-flavored vaping devices that have been approved for marketing by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

    Many states have also included products still currently under review by the regulatory agency.

    The bipartisan bill received pushback from some lawmakers in the House but unanimous support in the Senate before it passed earlier this week. Last year, DeSantis vetoed a similar measure, and opponents say they hope he will do the same this year.

    Proponents of the measure say removing vaping flavors from the market is aimed at keeping e-cigarettes out of the hands of children.

    Lining the sidewalks on each side of W. Brevard Street, protesters chanted “Veto the vape bill” and “No to tobacco,” while holding signs with the words: “We vote, we vape.”

  • State General Assembly Kills Colorado Flavor Ban Bill

    State General Assembly Kills Colorado Flavor Ban Bill

    Credit: Christopher Boswell

    It happened again. For the second time in the last three sessions, a bill to regulate flavored nicotine products has died in Colorado’s General Assembly.

    The proposal would have allowed a board of county commissioners to ban flavored tobacco and nicotine products. The House Business Affairs & Labor Committee defeated it on a 6-5 vote, according to Colorado Public Radio.

    Several lawmakers on the committee voting against the bill cited concerns about its impacts on local businesses, echoing testimony from several vape shop owners who said it would have hurt sales if a county banned flavored vaping and other tobacco products.

    “We have a long history of choosing to listen to the tobacco lobby,” said bill sponsor Rep. Elizabeth Velasco, as she appealed to her colleagues before the vote. “I hope that today we can really think about the children and make sure that we do the right thing to make sure that our children don’t have access to these products that have been targeted for them.”

    The measure had already passed a Senate committee and the full Senate. As has been seen in prior years, the bill drew intense lobbying, with 141 lobbyists from both sides signing up to voice support, opposition, or neutrality, according to the state’s lobbyist disclosure website.

    Tobacco companies like PMI, RJ Reynolds America, and Altria, represented by the lobbying company Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, and industry groups, including the Vapor Technology Association, hired lobbyists in opposition to the legislation.

    All the traditional anti-nicotine groups such as Bloomberg, Tobacco-Free Kids Action Fund and Kaiser Permanente also hired lobbyists in support.

    In 2022, a bill to ban flavored tobacco statewide failed after Gov. Jared Polis said the issue should be handled at the local level.

  • Altria set to Submit PMTA for Flavored Njoy Products

    Altria set to Submit PMTA for Flavored Njoy Products

    Altria sign

    It seems U.S. regulators are prepared to accept premarket tobacco product applications (PMTAs) for some flavored vaping products other than tobacco from a brand that already has a marketing authorization for its tobacco-flavored products.

    A marketing authorization for a fruit flavor would be unexpected from U.S. regulators. And giving a flavored-product authorization to a major tobacco company would likely cause an uproar from a majority of the vaping industry.

    According to media reports, Altria Group is finalizing its submissions to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to sell Njoy vape products in blueberry and watermelon flavors, CEO Billy Gifford said Wednesday at the Consumer Analyst Group of New York (CAGNY) conference in Florida.

    Altria is already waiting for action from the FDA on a menthol version, he said. The company said it hopes its plans to employ Bluetooth technology to prevent underage use in a way it hasn’t yet detailed will be enough to sway the regulatory agency that has yet to approve a flavored e-liquid vaping product in a flavor other than tobacco.

    “We’ve demonstrated the age-gating restrictions are effective at preventing underage access in virtually all cases,” Gifford said, according to a transcript of the company’s webcast.

    Altria plans to get its regular tobacco-flavored Njoy vape products into 100,000 stores in 2024, up from around 75,000 last year, with new packaging, Gifford said. He estimated that the international opportunity to sell heated tobacco and vape products is worth $35 billion to $50 billion.

    After encouraging results from the launch of its larger-sized oral nicotine pouches, On! Plus, in Sweden, Altria plans to expand distribution there, and launch the On! Plus products in the U.K. this year, according to CFO Salvatore Mancuso.

  • Utah Moves Forward With Flavor Ban Legislation

    Utah Moves Forward With Flavor Ban Legislation

    Credit: Christopher Boswell

    After this legislative session, the sale of flavored nicotine products may be banned in Utah.

    SB61, the Electronic Cigarette Amendments, sponsored by Senate Minority Assistant Whip Jen Plumb, forbids the sale of flavored electronic cigarette products and “electronic cigarette products that have not received market authorization from the federal Food and Drug Administration.”

    The Senate voted 20-3 to pass the bill, which now goes to the House for consideration, according to media reports.

    The ban would exclude the flavors of tobacco, mint, and menthol for e-cigarettes.

    States like California, Massachusetts, New Jersey and New York have also approved flavor sales bans.

  • Study Finds Vaping may be Altering Some Senses

    Study Finds Vaping may be Altering Some Senses

    Photo: fotofabrika

    Research from the University of Otago shows that a side effect of vaping may be a distaste for “sweet” smells, reports the Otago Daily Times.

    The study had more than 200 participants who vaped regularly, occasionally or never. It aimed to assess potential impacts of vaping on taste and smell.

    The results showed that nonvapers found “sweet” smells more pleasant than vapers, according to Jessica McCormack, researcher from the university’s Department of Food Science.

    The distaste may be a result of vapers’ overexposure to sweet vape flavors, according to McCormack.

    Study participants rated pleasantness and intensity of smell and taste samples and did a sensory detection test where they guessed between plain water and the taste or smell at a very low concentration.

    Results showing a smell dysfunction and taste changes in vapers were consistent with studies looking at smokers, McCormack said.

    “We still have more we need to know about what the mechanisms might be here—is it related to the use of flavors or nicotine or a combination?”

    The study was conducted in collaboration with the National Institute for Health Innovation and published in the journal Appetite.

  • Hallowell is 7th Maine City to Ban Flavored Nicotine

    Hallowell is 7th Maine City to Ban Flavored Nicotine

    Credit: Lukasz Kochanek

    There are now seven cities in the state of Maine that ban flavored nicotine products.

    There is also legislation is due to be taken up in the Maine House for a statewide flavor ban in the coming weeks. The Senate passed it last year.

    Monday night, the Hallowell City Council voted to end the sale of flavored nicotine products in the city.

    The ordinance was passed after a 3-3 tie was resolved by the presiding officer.

    Hallowell is now the seventh community in Maine to ban the products, joining the towns Falmouth, Portland, South Portland, Brunswick, Bangor and Bar Harbor in passing similar bans on selling flavored nicotine products.

    Those who voted against the motion said prohibition isn’t effective and enforcing existing laws regarding underage sales should be a priority.

  • Flavors Help Save Lives According to New Study

    Flavors Help Save Lives According to New Study

    Image: Fotofabrika

    Today, the R Street Institute released a new report that explores how flavors are processed by the brain, especially as it pertains to tobacco and nicotine products. Using these findings, the author, Jeffrey Smith, resident senior fellow for integrated harm reduction policy at R Street, explains how flavor can influence behavior and why well-intentioned efforts to ban flavored tobacco and nicotine products can have unintended consequences in the fight to reduce smoking rates in the United States.

    This report comes at a crucial time as the debate over flavored tobacco and nicotine products continues at state, national, and international levels. Across the United States, policymakers are proposing or enacting flavor bans without fully appreciating the impact of their actions for adult smokers. And just this week, the World Health Organization’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control is hosting their 10th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP10), where many expect the WHO to continue its crusade against flavored, reduced-risk nicotine products.

    To reduce the nearly 500,000 smoking-related deaths that occur each year in the United States, the CTP must take a scientifically driven approach that recognizes the neurobiological rationale for allowing a wide variety of flavored, reduced-risk products to be available to adults—while minimizing youth access.

    Jeffrey Smith, resident senior fellow for integrated harm reduction policy, R Street

    Smoking rates have declined in recent years and, under the Trump administration, the age to purchase tobacco products was raised to 21. This has reduced youth use, and continued enforcement will help lower rates even more. However, millions of adults in the United States still smoke combustible cigarettes to the detriment of their health.

    A number of tools exist to help these individuals quit smoking. Flavor, for example, has been shown to help move adult smokers away from combustible cigarettes to alternative, reduced-risk products. This makes sense on the surface; if it tastes good, then it’s more appealing. However, in R Street’s report, author Jeffrey Smith goes far deeper and explains the neurobiological connections between flavor and behavior. While adults may seek tobacco flavored products to initially switch, other flavors help them maintain abstinence from cigarettes. In the end, flavor will save more lives, according to Smith’s research.

    “To reduce the nearly 500,000 smoking-related deaths that occur each year in the United States, the FDA Center for Tobacco Products (CTP) must take a scientifically driven approach that recognizes the neurobiological rationale for allowing a wide variety of flavored, reduced-risk products to be available to adults—while minimizing youth access,” said Smith in a statement. “It is essential that the CTP approve non-tobacco-flavored, reduced-risk products.”

  • Vermont Moving Closer to Flavored Nicotine Ban

    Vermont Moving Closer to Flavored Nicotine Ban

    Credit: Belyay

    It’s likely going to become law. The Vermont House Committee on Human Services advanced a bill last week that would ban selling flavored vaping and other tobacco products, but made changes to address disagreements on whether to include menthol cigarettes.

    If passed, the ban would go into effect on Jan. 1, 2025. However, the ban on menthol cigarettes would be delayed until July 1, 2025, and the Health Equity Advisory Committee would produce a report on whether the ban is discriminatory and present it to the assembly in the 2025 legislative session, according to media reports.

    The bill proposes a ban on selling flavored tobacco products and substitutes, including cigarettes, vapes, cigars, snuff, and chewing tobacco. The bill’s most recent draft defines flavors as any taste or aroma other than that of tobacco, including “fruit, chocolate, vanilla, honey, maple, candy, cocoa, dessert, alcoholic beverage, mint, menthol, wintergreen, herb or spice, or other food or drink.”

    There were disagreements over whether the ban supports people of color, who are disproportionately targeted by the marketing of menthol cigarettes, leading to them being more likely to die of tobacco-related diseases. Or, the ban would discriminate against people of color and the LGBTQ community by banning their preferred cigarettes and other menthol tobacco products.