Flavors Hook Kids in Maine

Tobacco companies have developed an array of menthol, mint, candy, and fruit-flavored products in colorful packaging to attract new users and keep them using tobacco. Winter Menthol. Strawberry Lemonade. Blue Razz. Banana Ice. Bubble Gum. Cotton Candy. The tobacco industry knows that 95% of adults who smoke start by age 21, so these flavored products aren’t for adults. Flavors hook kids!

There are too many flavored tobacco products on the market.

Winter Menthol. Peppermint Mocha. Cherry Crush. Banana Blast. Pop Tart. Cotton Candy. Flavored tobacco products, including cigarettes, cigars, chewing tobacco, and e-cigarettes, undermine Maine’s efforts to reduce youth tobacco use. While almost all e-cigarettes contain nicotine, more than half of Maine youth who use e-cigarettes say they think it’s just harmless flavoring.

Menthol cigarettes are the most dangerous flavored tobacco product.

Menthol flavoring makes it easier for youth to start smoking and become addicted to cigarettes. Menthol masks the harsh taste of tobacco and numbs the throat, making the smoke easier to inhale more deeply. People who smoke menthol cigarettes are also less likely to successfully quit smoking than other people who smoke.

The tobacco industry has a long and lethal history of targeting kids and other communities with flavored products.

Tobacco industry documents reveal aggressive marketing, including cheaper prices and more advertising of menthol cigarettes in African American neighborhoods. The tobacco industry has also targeted the lesbian, gay and bisexual community with predatory advertising in LGBTQ+ magazines and sponsorships of local Pride events and celebrations.

Maine is seeing an explosion of e-cigarette use (also known as “vaping”) among youth.

This epidemic started with Juul, a high-tech device disguised as a USB drive that comes in a variety of flavors to entice kids. One Juul pod contains as much nicotine as a pack of 20 cigarettes. This high concentration is a serious concern for youth, who are already uniquely susceptible to nicotine addiction. Juul is just one example of how the tobacco industry has adapted their products and their marketing tactics to attract their “replacement smokers.”

Tobacco use puts our kids’ health and futures at risk. Smoking causes disease and disability, harming nearly every organ of the body. There is also growing evidence that e-cigarettes can harm lung health. And now, the U.S. Surgeon General warns that nicotine exposure during adolescence and young adulthood can cause addiction and long-term harm to brain development, stating, “No matter how it’s delivered, nicotine is harmful for youth and young adults.

Flavors aren’t for adults. Flavors hook Maine kids.

Latest News

Tobacco-Free Kids Applauds Maine Gov. Janet Mills for Leadership In Fight to Protect Kids from All Flavored Tobacco Products
May 12, 2021

Statement of Carol Kelly, campaign coordinator, in response to today’s announcement that the FDA will prohibit the sale of menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars
April 21, 2021

It’s time to act.

Help give Maine youth and young adults a fair shot at a healthy and productive future, free from tobacco addiction. Ask your lawmakers to end the sale of all flavored tobacco products in Maine.

Fact Sheets

» Report: Stopping Menthol, Saving Lives: Ending Big Tobacco’s Predatory Marketing to Black Communities

» E-Cigarette Resources for Parents

» COVID-19: Implications for People Who Smoke or Vape

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