From Flavors Hook Kids Denver:
Today, the Edgewater City Council voted unanimously (6-0) to end the sale of flavored tobacco products, including flavored e-cigarettes, menthol cigarettes, and flavored cigars. Prohibiting the sale of flavored tobacco products is a critical step forward to protect kids from tobacco addiction, advance health equity, and save lives, especially among Black and Hispanic residents. According to the 2019 Healthy Kids Colorado Survey, 26% of youth in Jefferson County reported using e-cigarettes in a 30-day period. Among youth who smoke conventional cigarettes, 28% reported smoking menthol cigarettes.
“Today, we’ve taken an important step towards reducing tobacco initiation and addiction in our community,” stated Edgewater Council Member Micha Rosenoer. “Edgewater was given the opportunity to lead on this issue, and we as council members have the responsibility to our constituents to prioritize their health and lives over industry profits. I’m proud of what we’ve done here today, for our kids and the future of our community.”
The Council’s action will crack down on the tobacco industry’s most pernicious tactic for luring and addicting kids -– the marketing and sale of flavored products. It will also help end the industry’s predatory targeting of Black communities with menthol cigarettes and decades of institutional racism that has taken a devastating toll on Black lives and health and is a major cause of health disparities.
“We applaud the City of Edgewater for becoming the first community in Jefferson County to advance a strong policy to address flavored tobacco and reduce the deadly toll of tobacco,” said Dr. Dawn Comstock, Executive Director of Jefferson County Public Health. “By eliminating the sale of appealing, kid-friendly flavors in all tobacco products, this policy will advance public health, improve health equity and save lives. We look forward to partnering with Edgewater to support ongoing retailer education and compliance activities during the implementation phase of this critical policy.”
Edgewater has a history of standing up to the tobacco industry. In 2016, the city became one of the first in the state to enact a tobacco retail licensing ordinance. Three years later in 2019, Edgewater became one of the first communities in Colorado to raise the age of tobacco sales to 21 and to strengthen the city’s existing tobacco retail license. “We can’t put a price on the health and lives of Edgewater’s kids,” said Stephen de Herrera, Program Coordinator for Servicios de la Raza. “With youth vaping on the rise, and strong evidence that shows the devastating impacts of flavored tobacco use on communities of color, we had to take bold action now.”
This decision by the Edgewater City Council comes several months after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced they will begin the rulemaking process to prohibit menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars nationwide. However, because this process will likely take years to finalize and implement the necessary regulations to prohibit menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars, action at the local level has never been more important.
Edgewater joins Aspen, Boulder, Carbondale, Glenwood Springs, and Snowmass Village in prohibiting the sale of flavored tobacco products. A number of other municipalities, including Denver, are currently considering similar measures.
For more information, visit flavorshookkidsdenver.org. Follow on Instagram and Twitter @flavorshookcolo.
Joel has been a resident of Edgewater, Colorado with his family since 2012. He is the Executive Director of local education nonprofit Edgewater Collective and Editor of the Edgewater Echo.
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