We find ourselves debating another ban on tobacco products, but will this ban actually help protect youths from increasing chances of lung cancer? Will it help smokers get rid of thier “nasty” smoking habit? The answer is no!
The FDA reports, 8 out of 10 young smokers in America use flavored e-cigarettes (fruit, mint, or menthol). A ban may lead to a decrease in smoking e-cigarettes, but chances are the users will switch to smoking standard cigarettes.
The Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, passed by the state’s Congress in 2009, banned flavored cigarettes except for menthol. Now the same government propagates a ban over the menthol version and any variety of flavored tobacco products that they deem marketed towards youths. But what the government doesn’t see is the consequences that will follow. Shouldn’t the government and those advocating the ban conduct a more thorough analysis before initiating an outright ban?
Menthol flavored #cigarettes and tobacco products are the most popular among flavors. Besides having a cooling effect and refreshing aroma, menthol is widely consumed as an alternative to painkillers. Apart from its medicinal properties that help get rid of sore throats, coughs, stabilize emotions, etc., menthol used in cigarettes helps reduce the harsh and irritating odor of smoking. In the US, more than half of menthol smokers are aged between 12-17. Imagine a ban on flavored products; what would this demographic smoke instead? Weed perhaps?
The focus should be on barring the youth's access to more harmful nicotine products. A complete ban on flavored tobacco products will only push minors to seek other, more harmful smoking products. Pushing youths to the ashtray isn’t the only unintended consequence of the ban on the flavored cigarettes. There are many more aspects the government and ban advocates should consider before reaching a conclusion.
Banning these products will encourage the smuggling of cigarettes and other paraphernalia. A large number of cigarettes and other nicotine products are smuggled into the US every year with their sources remaining unknown. A broad ban on flavored tobacco products will encourage young smokers to switch to cigarettes and due to their age restriction, smuggling of these products will see an increase. Illegal substances will become more accessible compared to what’s protected by law.
Sales data reports 35% of the US tobacco market is contributed by flavored tobacco products. The tobacco excise tax in the US is unstable already. A ban on flavored cigarettes would further distort the tax base - the ban will not only narrow the tax source coming from the flavored category but will also raise the tax rate for unflavored tobacco products. Let’s put it this way, to recover the tax revenue that was earned previously from the flavored cigarettes, unflavored tobacco product rates will have to be increased.
According to a report by Counter Tobacco Org, “The ban on flavored cigarettes was associated with a 17% reduction in the probability of middle and high school youth becoming smokers and a 58% reduction in cigarettes smoked by the youth who smoke. However, the ban was also associated with a 45% increase in the use of menthol cigarettes, a 34% increase in the use of cigars, and a 55% increase in the use of pipes, indicating that youth may be substituting menthol cigarettes and other flavored tobacco products in place of flavored cigarettes.”
In America, many people lose their lives due to lung cancer. Smoking receives a lot of blame for such deaths but it’s not the only cause. According to the American Lung Association, the number of deaths caused by lung cancer spiked to 159,292 in 2005 and decreased to 148,945 in 2016. Quoting the reports of the American Cancer Society, “As of 2016, the cancer death rate for men and women combined had fallen 27% from its peak in 1991.” This contradicts the idea that flavored tobacco products contribute! You ask why? We know smoking is a major contributor to the causes of lung cancer, but a ban on flavored tobacco will push young smokers to take up new, more dangerous alternatives and will again contribute even more cancer cases, now affecting a number of younger cancer patients.
Banning flavored cigarettes is not the solution. You can’t stop a smoker, but you can train the seller to understand and validate whom they distribute to. You don’t ban cars because of accidents on the road, you train the driver and help them understand the standard rules.
