The agency is proposing allowing other tastes for vapes, like mint, coffees, spices or tea, to appeal to adults. At the same time, illicit candy-flavored types aimed at teenagers have flooded the market.
The real purpose of MAHA: addicting another generation to nicotine.
Adults don’t like fruit, coffee, and mint flavors? As an adult who used to chew, smoke, then vape to quit, I enjoyed those flavors. Fruity cocktails and espresso martinis are drinks that adults consume a lot.
Candy cigarettes were sold to children. Nicotine products are illegal. If a teen has connections, they’re going to get what they want, but comparing candy and adult products is disingenuous even though candy was marketed at kids.
I smoked Reds in high school bc I thought they were cool or something. I smoked Newports as an adult. I sick don’t understand the whole “mint/menthol is aimed at kids” thing.
I started on Copenhagen long cut, cigarettes, then menthol cigs, then every flavor of vape I could find, then nothing. All in my legal adult years.
I do think that tobacco companies probably don’t try to exclude teens from their marketing. It’s not like their ads are some Nickelodeon satire. An ad for adults probably also strikes home with teens. I’m not sure how one would tell the difference unless it was blatant, like Dora smoking a Juul, which it’s not.
This is another case of clutching pearls and believing the government should replace parenting.
Some children will. But the argument is that if candy flavored vapes didn’t exist, if vape sellers couldn’t target children with marketing and selling, then a lot fewer would be tempted, or not until they’re older.
No one expects such a thing to be absolute: it’s a stats game