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Dana Connors is the former president of the Maine State Chamber of Commerce.
The Maine Legislature is currently debating a bill that would end the sale of flavored tobacco products statewide. It is a bill that needs to become law and is long overdue.
The companies that sell these products target our youth. Flavored tobacco, especially disposable e-cigarettes, are the most popular tobacco products among Maine youth. According to the 2023 National Youth Tobacco Survey, more than 2.1 million U.S. middle and high school students reported using e-cigarettes, and nearly 90 percent of them use flavored products.
There are also claims that using e-cigarettes is an effective way to quit smoking. That is simply not true. The Food and Drug Administration has not found any e-cigarette or vaping product to be safe and effective in helping smokers quit. Vaping products are no different from cigarettes in that they contain nicotine, which is highly addictive. The surgeon general reports e-cigarette use among youth is a significant public health concern and steps must be taken by parents, educators and especially policymakers to discourage use of e-cigarettes.
Personally, I am a grandparent to six children ranging in age from 2 to 10 years old. But this isn’t just about kids. As a longtime advocate for Maine business, my concern is the impact that flavored e-cigarettes and other tobacco products can and will have on our workforce here in Maine. A healthy workforce is critical to the success of any business. Employees who use tobacco make themselves much more susceptible to future health risks and less dependable to employers.
The federal government currently bans flavors, except for menthol, in combustible cigarettes, but allows them in vaping products, which simply does not make sense. However, individual states are already taking action to protect kids and public health. California and Massachusetts have already prohibited the sale of flavored tobacco products in their states. But the tobacco industry predictably fought to delay the law and even brought the issue to a referendum in California. But Californians overwhelmingly rejected the referendum and the law to end the sale of flavored tobacco products resumed.
The fight did not stop there as tobacco providers recently asked the U.S. Supreme Court to step in, but it refused. Many Maine cities and towns have already enacted laws prohibiting the sale of flavored tobacco products in their communities. The time is now to make this a law statewide.
It is encouraging to see that a recent study by the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention found that youth e-cigarette use has dropped by 15 percentage points in 2023. While the message is starting to get out about the evils of these products, there are still far too many teenagers using tobacco in Maine. More needs to be done.
Our Legislature and governor can lead the way in protecting not only our youth, but all Mainers from the dangers of vaping and the slick marketing campaigns that have targeted them. I strongly encourage them to do so. Healthy kids lead to healthy adult workers, and healthy workers are essential to a thriving economy. We owe it to our kids and our workforce to make this a top priority.
Rep. Anne Graham from North Yarmouth who is a nurse and has also worked for the American Cancer Society summed up the issue perfectly.
“I will do anything in my power to prevent illness, injury and disease,” she said at a Health and Human Services Committee meeting last year. “We need to not get them hooked so early on.”