Apple-flavored tobacco will no longer be available in the Big Apple. A federal district court judge upheld a city ban that prohibits the sale of all flavored tobacco products (except cigarettes), with the exception of menthol and mint-flavored products.
According to a recent article, the ban pertains to “any fruit, chocolate, vanilla, honey, candy, cocoa, dessert, alcoholic beverage, herb or spice” flavorings used in anything but cigarettes. The idea is to keep tobacco tasting like tobacco, a move that could directly damage the potential to attract new tobacco users. Among those potential new users that can be turned off by the lack of flavoring are minors – a group of customer that can’t legally buy tobacco products but (although big tobacco will never openly admit it) would be necessary to keep big tobacco earnings high in the future. Because let’s be honest here, who is candy-flavored tobacco
really aiming to attract?
The move by NYC to enforce the flavoring ban also sets the stage for more cities to join in. While the FDA hasn’t enforced a ban on the production of flavored tobacco products, NYC’s move to create a citywide ban sets a precedent that allows other cities to do the same thing.
