Mayor Dinkins, NAACP, Join Coalition of More than 100 NYC Groups Calling for Flavored Tobacco Restrictions

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NEW YORK, NY (10/15/2019) (readMedia)-- Flavors Hook Kids NYC -- a coalition of parents, children, advocates, city leaders, and more than 100 organizations -- rallied today at City Hall to demand that the sale of all flavored tobacco products be restricted in New York, including menthol cigarettes and flavored e-cigarettes.

"In 2009, the New York City Council made a grave error not including menthol in its tobacco flavor ban," said André M. Richardson, campaign manager of Flavors Hook Kids NYC Coalition. "Since then, tens-of-thousands of people have died, the scourge of e-cigarettes has exploded into our communities, and Big Tobacco continues to hook children on nicotine every single day using the same trick they've used for decades: flavors. Now New York City can make it right by restricting the sale of all flavored tobacco once and for all, including menthol cigarettes and flavored e-cigarettes."

"For decades, communities of color - and especially our children - have been targeted by the aggressive marketing campaigns of tobacco companies looking to hook us on nicotine for life," said David N. Dinkins, 106th Mayor, City of New York. "Vaping is the newest part of this problem as the greatest weapon in special interest tobacco's war against our health has always been menthol cigarettes-they are easy to start smoking and harder to quit. New York City cannot wait any longer for Congress or New York State to close the deadly menthol loophole. The well-being of our most vulnerable New Yorkers hinges on leaders taking a stand against special interest tobacco at this critical moment. I urge the City Council to pass immediate legislation to restrict the sale of menthol and ban all flavored e-cigarette products before more kids fall to nicotine addiction."

"Big Tobacco continues to peddle perfume-coated poison in our communities and seduce our young people into addiction for profit. We want our city to be a healthier place to live - for all New Yorkers, and for future generations," said First Lady Chirlane McCray. "We are taking a stand in this fight to end the sale of flavored tobacco. The health of our children depends on it."

"Ten years ago in October 2009, we banned flavored tobacco. Chocolate, vanilla, honey, candy and other flavors were known to attract young people to smoking and get them hooked on cigarettes. This was the right thing to do, but we didn't finish the job. The 2009 law left a gaping loophole- it exempted menthol, wintergreen and mint flavors from the ban, and this was a mistake. Menthol is the most common tobacco flavor. Eighty percent of kids who smoke started with a flavored product and more than half of youth smokers use menthol cigarettes. Eighty-five percent of African-American smokers and 64% of Latino smokers buy menthols and this has contributed to health disparities for decades. My bill, Intro 1345, would close the flavored tobacco loophole and ban the sale of menthol, mint and wintergreen. We have major health groups on our side, we have science on our side. We're moving forward to close the loophole, ban the flavors and stop thousands of New Yorkers from dying annually from smoking. We're finishing the job we started 10 years ago," said Council Member Fernando Cabrera.

"As we mark the tenth anniversary of the historic vote by the City Council to restrict tobacco flavors, New Yorkers of all ages--including kids--continue to be hooked by the one tobacco flavor left on the market ten years ago: menthol," said City Council Health Committee Chair Mark Levine. "A decade later we find ourself facing a new nicotine epidemic thanks to rise of underage vaping use driven mainly by the proliferation of flavored products. New York City must finally confront the fact that flavored nicotine products are designed specifically to hook new generations to these harmful products. That is why we are calling for legislation to end both of these threats, by once and for all banning everything but tobacco flavor for both vaping and tobacco products."

"We have been fighting since the FDA signed the legislation that left menthol out when they took out all the flavors off the market. We have to get cigarettes out of our community. There's a notion that black people "prefer" menthol - the reason that we prefer menthol is that for decades these products have been dumped in our community with predatory tactics that included giving free mentholated cigarettes to children. We are here to say that we stand with New York - it was a mistake that menthol was not taken out years ago but we can correct that law," said Carol McGruder, Co-Founder and Co-Chair of the African American Tobacco Control Leadership Council.

Menthol has been shown to be more addictive than regular cigarettes because it is less-harsh than regular tobacco. African-American cigarette smokers are nearly 11 times more likely to use menthol cigarettes than white smokers. In New York City alone, 85% of black smokers use menthol compared to only 23% of white smokers.

Ten years ago, the New York City Council approved legislation that prohibited the sale of most flavored tobacco products, but it exempted menthol, mint and wintergreen--which are among the most popular flavors used by young people. Half of all youth smokers smoke a menthol product.

The ban also was put in place before e-cigarettes hit the market, and does not prohibit them. New FDA survey data show youth use of e-cigarettes skyrocketed 135% in the last two years alone, and that five million middle and high school students nationwide now use e-cigarettes. Flavored e-cigarettes are the most popular type used by young people.

"It's time to protect New York City kids from Big Tobacco and their flavored tobacco products. The City Council needs to act quickly to crack down on the sale of all flavored tobacco products in New York, including flavored e-cigarettes, cigars and menthol cigarettes. The time for waiting is over – the time for action is now," said Kevin O'Flaherty, Director of Advocacy at Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids.

"As volunteer advocates who hear from desperate parents every day seeking help and resources for their nicotine-addicted children, we know first-hand how flavored tobacco products hook kids and upend families' lives. Though we were activated by our own kids' use of flavored e-cigs like JUUL and formed our national grassroots group in 2018 to fight the youth vaping epidemic, we are honored to be at the table with our remarkable coalition partners to correct an historic error. In honor of the 10th anniversary of the menthol mistake, we urge the NYC council to pass urgently-needed legislation that will ban all flavored tobacco products including menthol cigarettes: We cannot allow our young people to be human Guinea pigs for the flavored e-cig experiment nor to become the next generation of nicotine addicts. Those who forget the past are condemned to repeat it and we will not allow New York City's kids to be sacrificed at the altar of Big Tobacco again," said Meredith Berkman, co-founder of Parents Against Vaping E-cigarettes (PAVE).

"While smoking rates are now at historic lows –smoking still accounts for about 30% of all cancer deaths. This includes about 80% of the nearly 3,000 lung cancer deaths annually in New York City," said Michael Davoli, director of government relations, American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN). "We must do all that we can to reduce tobacco use if we are going to prevent more lives from being lost to cancer. New York City led the way in 2009 by banning most flavored tobacco. It is now time to finish the job once and for all by restricting the sale of menthol cigarettes and all flavored electronic cigarettes in New York City."

"Smoking is a major public health issue among Asians in New York City. At a time when smoking cigarettes was on its way out with youth, it is disturbing that adolescents have picked up a new nicotine addiction through e-cigarettes and flavored tobacco," said Jane Eng, President and CEO of the Charles B. Wang Community Health Center. "Our Pediatrics Department is especially concerned that flavored e-cigarettes and tobacco products will hook another generation of smokers. I urge the community and our government leaders to listen to our concerns and support the Flavors Hook Kids Campaign to prevent future youth from falling to addiction."

"At the Laura and Isaac Perlmutter Cancer Center at NYU Langone Health, we know that tobacco companies have targeted youth with advertising and flavored products designed for their consumption. Recent research at the PCC has already shown the potential detrimental effects of exposure to e-cigarette smoke, and researchers have established the detrimental health impacts caused by tobacco and nicotine. The strongest tool to curb the youth smoking rate is the New York City Council legislation that would limit the sale of menthol cigarettes and prohibit the sale of all flavored e-cigarettes. It is imperative that City Council act now to pass legislation to protect our NYC kids," said Benjamin G. Neel, MD, PhD, Director, Laura and Isaac Perlmutter Cancer Center at NYU Langone Health.

In the past few months, at least 450 people across the country were hospitalized for vaping-related illnesses and at least 26 people have died. In New York, the state Department of Health issued a warning about e-cigarette use, citing multiple cases of "severe pulmonary disease" among patients "who reported recent use of vape products." Governor Cuomo issued a temporary emergency regulation that would ban all flavored e-cigarettes, including menthol--but it was recently slowed down by a State Court.

Flavors Hook Kids NYC -- a coalition of more than 100 health, religious, parent and community organizations -- is an all-out effort to restrict the sale of all flavored tobacco products in New York City, including e-cigarette flavors and menthol cigarettes, before 2020.

Members of the growing coalition are: Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, NAACP, Parents Against Vaping e-cigarettes (PAVe), African American Clergy and Elected Official organization (AACEO), American Cancer Society Action Network (ACS CAN), New York Communities for Change, American Cancer Society Action Network, the African American Tobacco Control Leadership Council NAATPN, American Heart Association, American Lung Association, Neighbors in Action, Last Call Church, United Concerned Citizens, NYPIRG, Bishop Courtenay of Emmanuel Church of God in Brooklyn, Arthur Ashe Institute Public Health, among others. The list is in formation.