The Westchester County Board of Legislators voted 11-6 on Nov. 28 to ban the local sale of flavored tobacco products.
The new law will go into effect six months after it is signed by County Executive George Latimer. It does not prevent consumers from using flavored tobacco products in Westchester, and retailers who are found to be in violation will receive citations from the county”™s health department and not from police agencies. Menthol cigarettes, cherry pipe tobacco, vanilla cigars, and wintergreen smokeless tobacco are among the products being banned.
Trevor Summerfield, director of advocacy for the American Lung Association in New York, welcomed the vote.
“Eighty-one percent of kids who have ever used a tobacco product started with one that was flavored,” Summerfield said. “The industry knows exactly what they are doing and has aggressively marketed its products to kids for many years to get the next generation addicted to tobacco. Next time convenience stores, retailers, and manufacturers argue that menthol is an adult flavor, we should remind them that nearly nine out of 10 adults who smoke cigarettes daily had their first cigarette before the age 18. The simple truth is that for every youth that gets addicted to these deadly products, Big Tobacco makes a lifetime of profits.
However, the New York Association of Convenience Stores (NYACS) pointed out that none of Westchester”™s neighboring counties have a similar ban, which will encourage consumers to make their purchases elsewhere.
“Implementing a ban in one jurisdiction and not any others mean these products would remain widely available to consumers in nearby counties and states, undercutting the public health goals of the legislation” said Kent Sopris, NYACS”™ president, who added that “prohibition has never worked.”
