By Julio Tejada, Editorial Intern
Flavored cigarettes will become a thing of the past this summer — at least in Long Beach.
After several months of anti-tobacco lobbying and a temporary moratorium, the Long Beach City Council unanimously voted to ban the sale of flavored tobacco products on April 13. The ban includes vaping products and menthol cigarettes.
“Over 80% of kids who use tobacco started with a flavored product,” said Alexa Warner of the American Heart Association at the April 6 council meeting. “The tobacco industry knows that and uses this information to target children the industry has even called high school students their quote replacement customers.”
The city attorney’s office stated that the ordinance is meant to protect the youth and underserved populations from the harms of tobacco. The ordinance claims that flavored tobacco products are aimed to get teens addicted to nicotine at an early age. The sale of tobacco products already is restricted to people 21 years old and older.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 480,000 people die in the United States from smoking-related diseases and exposure to secondhand smoke every year, making tobacco use the nation’s leading cause of preventable death.
Eric Batch from the American Heart Association praised the council for its unanimous vote.
“I really just wanted to call in tonight and applaud you all for considering taking this action,” Batch told council members. “You know the national dialogue right now has a focus on holding those accountable who abuse and harm our communities and that includes big tobacco.”
Data released by the CDC and by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration displayed a fast increase of use of electronic smoking devices by youth. In 2019, 1 in 5 youths were using electronic smoking devices.
But not everyone is happy about the new ban.
Nick Almaguer, a manager at Breathe Vape in Long Beach says the ban will force his business to shut down as flavored tobacco products make up 90% of his sales.
“The ban is lazy and irresponsible and the laziness comes into the fact that there are ways to prevent this ban.”Almaguer said.
Almaguer added that he submitted a three page document to the council members of alternatives they could use that were extremely strict and if not stricter than the rules they have in place for dispensaries. Businesses like Breathe Vape shop who carry these flavored products will have a 90-day grace period (by July 12) before it is enforced.
Almauger believes that children are getting the majority of flavored tobacco products online and at their local convenience stores. He suggests taking these products out of places where kids actually have access to them. Therefore leaving businesses like his to sell the flavored products strictly to people who are 21 and older.
Nevertheless, community members lauded the council during the public comments section of the April 13 meeting.
“For years youth have suffered at the hands of big tobacco and their deadly flavored products and even prior to the pandemic the rise of youth vaping devastated the health of Long Beach schools and marginalized communities,” said Eva Carbonara, a senior at Wilson High in Long Beach.