Official proposes sales ban on flavored tobacco

A San Francisco official has proposed an anti-tobacco law that would ban the retail sale of menthol cigarettes and other flavored tobacco or tobacco-related products that are often the first choice of minority group members and teenagers who smoke.

Supervisor Malia Cohen, sponsor of the proposed ordinance, joined last week with public health experts and community advocates to announce the measure, which she said goes beyond laws on flavored tobacco in cities such as Chicago, Berkeley and New York.

“The legislation I’ve authored is a full restriction on the sale of all flavored tobacco products, and that does include menthol. There are no exemptions,” Cohen said. That includes cigarettes, cigars, smokeless tobacco and also electronic cigarettes.

The proposed ordinance is designed to address two major groups, youth and minorities, who have been targeted in successful, well-financed advertising campaigns that promote menthol cigarettes and flavored non-cigarette tobacco products. The products often attract blacks, Asians and Latinos, and teenagers.

San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee endorsed the proposal. “We know from research and studies that tobacco-related diseases continue to be the No. 1 cause of preventable deaths, especially among low-income and minority communities,” he said.

Oakland, Calif., is considering a similar law.

Cohen, who represents the predominantly African-American Bayview-Hunters Point district of San Francisco, said the ordinance grew out of her experience with family members who smoked menthol cigarettes and died of cancer.

“This is an evidence-based tobacco-prevention strategy that will save lives and cut costs for taxpayers who are collectively shouldering the health care costs of tobacco-related illnesses,” she said.

Nearly 9 in 10 African-Americans who smoke prefer menthol cigarettes, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Menthol is believed to make the harmful chemicals in cigarettes more easily absorbed by the body, and some research shows that menthol cigarettes are more addictive than regular ones, according to the CDC.

Public health experts say restricting menthol and other flavored tobacco would improve the health not only for minority populations, but also for teenagers.

“Because flavors play such a key role in youth starting to smoke, restricting access to these products means that fewer youth will start smoking,” said Randy Uang, director of tobacco prevention and control services at Breathe California. Flavors are popular with inexperienced smokers, he said, because they mask the taste of tobacco and decrease the irritating effects of nicotine.

THE NEW YORK TIMES San Francisco Supervisor Malia Cohen’s proposal “is a full restriction on the sale of all flavored tobacco products, and that does include menthol,” she said. It includes cigarettes, cigars, smokeless tobacco, and also electronic cigarettes.