City, retailers should escape flavored tobacco trap
By Mitch Bradley
Owner, Heebs Fresh Market
I want to encourage Bozeman to eliminate the sale of all flavored tobacco products in our community.
Tobacco addiction is a huge health problem in our society and it begins with young people starting to use these products early in life. Tobacco companies target youth to get them addicted and continue to make profits off them throughout their lives. Once a person starts using tobacco it’s incredibly hard to stop.
Tobacco has always been a pet peeve of mine. Not just due to smell of smoke from cigarettes and vape, but because it harms people.
These people include my father, who smoked his entire life until health problems forced him to quit in his late 70s. He exchanged his smokes for emphysema and an oxygen tank.
Even so, I sold tobacco in the old Heebs and continued to do so until I realized that it’s not just adults that these products hook. It’s also kids.
It was pointed out to me that our kiddy grocery carts were parked right next to the store’s tobacco display, which was packed with brightly colored packaging that made cigarillos and chew look just like candy. I decided that maybe I shouldn’t be selling these products anymore. When I opened up my new grocery store location in Bozeman, our shelves were free of all tobacco products.
I’m glad I made that decision because the more I’ve learned about tobacco marketing tactics, the more disgusted I feel about it.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the tobacco industry spends $1 million per hour on marketing in retail locations, such as grocery and convenience stores. This includes money spent on signs and product displays.
Tobacco distributors used to offer me cash rebates if I agreed to put up ads or display products in prominent areas.
If you go into businesses, you can see what this money buys: Candy-flavored tobacco products placed where kids will see them and signs at children’s eye level on doors and windows.
According to studies, the more kids see tobacco ads and displays in stores, the more likely they are to try the products. And the ones they tend to try are the ones that come in flavors they like.
I’ve learned that candy flavors are the reason why 81 percent of kids try tobacco products. This tactic has been used for decades, going all the way back to menthol cigarettes and cherry Skoal.
In Montana, 30% of kids use e-cigarettes compared to only 5% of adults. Also, 10% of male teens in Montana use smokeless tobacco, which comes in popular flavors. And 54% of teens who smoke use menthol cigarettes. So, obviously, the tactic works.
As a business owner, I try to support my community. I contribute to our schools and local sporting events. But you can’t be a good neighbor if you’re hooking kids on tobacco.
Let’s tell local retailers we don’t need these products in our town, and let’s tell our city leaders to end the flavor trap.
Flavored smoking products targeted at our youth
By Heather Demorest
Tobacco Prevention Specialist
Gallatin City-County Health Department
On June 26, 2020 the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services (DPHHS) proposed a rule to eliminate the sale, marketing, advertising and distribution of flavored electronic smoking products in Montana. Despite support from health organizations, schools, elected officials and youth throughout Montana, including Bozeman city commissioners, Bozeman Health and other local organizations, the rule was withdrawn.
In Gallatin County, flavored electronic tobacco products have negatively impacted the youth in our community. According to 2019 Youth Risk Behavior Survey, over half of local high school students had tried vaping, and over 37% are current users (used once or more in past 30 days). These staggering statistics are higher than the national average. To put these numbers in perspective, only 4% of Gallatin County adults use electronic vapor products (BRFFS, 2017). Nicotine is highly addictive in any form, and it can have lasting effects on the developing brain.
Various studies, including the National Youth Tobacco Survey (2018), indicate most youth start with a flavored product, and cite flavors as their primary reason to use e-cigarettes. Flavored tobacco products are cheap, accessible, and heavily advertised in gas stations, grocery stores, and other venues frequented by children. In Gallatin County alone, 124 tobacco retailers sell electronic vapor products. Of those, 110 are accessible by everyone under 21.
The tobacco industry has used flavors for decades to attract youth, knowing they are more likely to get addicted and continue to use these products than those who initiate tobacco use later in life. Fortunately, the rule proposed by the Montana DPHHS will not be the last aimed at protecting our youth from e-cigarettes. Future initiatives to eliminate flavored products should garner support from individuals concerned about the health and wellbeing of youth in our community.
