tobacco

Health advocates are once again urging state lawmakers to ban the sale of flavored tobacco and electronic smoking cartridges in Maine, citing a surge in youth vaping in recent years.

Officials in Portland, South Portland, Bangor and Brunswick have already voted to ban the products within their own communities.

Bangor was originally the first city in Maine to ban the sale of flavored tobacco. But the council repealed the ordinance earlier this year over a procedural error.

On June 1, bans on sales of all flavored tobacco products will go into effect in both Brunswick and Portland.

Bangor city councilors vowed to begin discussions on a new ordinance banning the sale and marketing of flavored tobacco products — and this time give plenty of notice to affected businesses.

The decision came after hours of testimony Monday night. Some retailers pushed back on the change, but several nonprofit and public health experts urged a ban, saying that flavored tobacco posed particular harm to young adults who could become addicted.

Bangor passed a similar amendment last year, and the town of Brunswick plans to consider a ban later this month. Both the Portland and Bangor bans go into effect at the beginning of June.

The ban would extend to products such as menthol cigarettes, mint chewing tobacco and electronic cigarettes. The Maine CDC and other health groups are supporting the ban. They say that teens can easily be hooked on e-cigarettes that are made to taste like gummy bears or Pop Tarts, and that the problem has worsened in recent years.

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