CA Flavor Ban Would Harm Smokers Trying to Transition 2 Safer Products

California voters will head to the polls in less than 24 hours to decide whether the state will prohibit the sale of certain flavored tobacco products in an attempt to curb youth smoking. This is one of many measures across the country that has looked to limit flavored tobacco products in hopes of curbing youth usage.

What many policymakers fail to realize is that flavored nicotine products can also be a critical offramp for smokers looking to quit, as outlined in a recent petition circulating the state. Unfortunately, flavor bans have the potential to push people back to traditional cigarettes.

Adult smokers have flocked to harm reduction companies to buy products that will help them stop smoking, like tobacco-free nicotine pouches, gum, and lozenges, which come in a host of different flavors. But as more states move to ban flavored tobacco products, there is real concern that all flavored nicotine products could be next, which would take away valuable resources that adult smokers use every day to finally put down cigarettes for good and choose a healthier lifestyle.

It is critical that states are careful not to institute policies that inadvertently contribute to an increase in cigarette smoking. Over the past few decades, tobacco sales in the U.S. have fallen steadily, but in 2020 that decline flattened, meaning cigarette sales were about the same as the previous year. While sales don’t appear to be increasing yet, this could be an early warning sign for policymakers that we could see a rise in smoking in the coming years, particularly if more states and localities move forward with flavor bans.

While some factors leading to this trend are temporary, like the stress related to a once in a lifetime global pandemic, some of the blame can also be laid at the feet of government regulations that have driven people from e-cigarettes and other nicotine replacement products and back to cigarettes. Smokers told The Wall Street Journal that increased taxes on e-cigarette products, flavor bans, and confusion about the health ramifications caused some to switch back to traditional combustible cigarettes.

Californians can look to Massachusetts to see in real-time how ineffective flavor bans are. After Massachusetts banned all flavored tobacco products in 2020, smokers simply went to neighboring states to purchase their flavored products, costing the state much-needed tax revenue while smokers continued to smoke. We also saw the dangers of flavor bans a few years ago when black market flavored vapes led to a slew of people getting mysterious lung injuries.

An estimated 8.9% of California residents are current cigarette smokers. These smokers need less harmful products that are easily accessible to help them manage their nicotine addiction in the safest way possible. Thankfully, even if the California flavor ban goes into effect, smokers will still have access to tobacco-free nicotine products like pouches, gum, and lozenges through online sales, but the state legislature should be wary about heading in the wrong direction with their tobacco and nicotine policies.

We have already seen the unintended negative outcomes associated with flavor bans in other states, and the last thing elected officials should do is institute policies that encourage smokers, particularly those who are on the road to quitting, to pick back up the cigarettes because that is their only option left.