Ending the Sale of Flavored Tobacco Products

Tobacco is responsible for roughly 1/3 of all cancer deaths -- or nearly 2,300 cancer deaths in Connecticut this year.

Flavors are a marketing weapon used by Big Tobacco to target youth. The evidence is clear: flavors hook kids.

More than 80% of teens who have ever used tobacco started with a flavored product, and are more likely to continue using tobacco in the future.
Youth report flavors are a leading reason they use tobacco products and perceive flavored products as less harmful.
Altering tobacco product ingredients and design - like adding flavors - can improve the ease of use of a product by masking harsh effects, facilitating nicotine uptake, and increasing a product’s overall appeal.
If smoking continues at the current rate among youth, 56,000 CT kids (under 18) alive today will die prematurely from a smoking-related illness.

More than half (54%) of youth ages 12-17 who smoke use menthol cigarettes. That's higher than any other age group.
For black youth ages 12-17 who smoke, seven out of 10 use menthol cigarettes. Big Tobacco has shamelessly and disproportionately marketed mentholated brands to black communities for decades.
A nationwide study showed that of young adults (over 18) who smoked, a majority started with menthol cigarettes.
Mint and menthol make up a large majority of Juul’s sales, with estimates as high as 80%.
The evidence indicates that if any e-cigarette flavors are left on the market, kids will shift from one flavor to another.

Thank you to the Lawmakers that have co-sponsored the bill to end the sale of all flavored tobacco products, SB 326.

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