Yarmouth Considers Expansion of Ban on Flavored Tobacco Products, E-Cigarettes

YARMOUTH – The expansion of a ban on the sale of flavored tobacco products and electronic-cigarette devices is under consideration in Yarmouth.

Health officials in the town are proposing to add menthol, mint and wintergreen tobacco products, as well as electronic-cigarettes, to the list of flavored tobacco products banned for sale in Yarmouth.

Executive Director of the Cape Cod Regional Tobacco Control Program Robert Collett calls it a “public health crisis.”

“The progress that we’ve made over the past 25 years in eradicating tobacco use by youths has largely been erased. It’s because of the vaping epidemic. It’s a true public health crisis. We have about 25-percent of youth in Massachusetts have admitted to using these products,” Cottell said.

“The marketing of these products is directly out of the tobacco industry playbook. The industry spends 95-percent of their advertising dollars on 14-year-olds.”

Cotter joined several speakers at a listening session hosted by the Yarmouth Board of Health on Monday to advocate for increased regulations.

“The Yarmouth Board of Health in 2014 restricted all other flavors, including alcohol, fruit and candy flavored products. This will now menthol, mint and wintergreen,” Cottell explained.

Town health officials argue that the use of e-cigarettes by minors has increased dramatically.

The proposed regulations will be decided upon in a set of hearings, one scheduled for February 25 with another on March 11.

By TIM DUNN, CapeCod.com News Center 

 

 

About CapeCod.com NewsCenter

The award-winning CapeCod.com NewsCenter provides the Cape Cod community with a constant, credible source for local news. We are on the job seven days a week.



CapeCod.com
737 West Main Street
Hyannis, MA 02601
Contact Us | Advertise Terms of Use 
Employment and EEO | Privacy