In its single-minded pursuit of maximizing profits, JUUL and the other companies of Big Tobacco 2.0 have used deceptive marketing, large-scale lobbying, and teen-friendly products (such as flavored e-cigarettes) to circumvent existing policies. This combination of tactics aggravates the need for prevention policies by increasing the likelihood that people will use life-threatening e-cigarette and other tobacco products. At SAN, we support restrictions on purchase age, flavoring, and marketing of e-cigarettes, as well as increased funding for prevention education. We have developed a youth-centric approach to legislative advocacy through which we support these policies:

Federal 

What We're Fighting For:
  • Ban on the sale and manufacture of all flavored e-liquids in the U.S.
    • Many do not realize that flavors in e-cigarettes are legal due to a loophole in the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act of 2009. Although the Act banned flavors in cigarettes, it failed to regulate e-cigarettes because they had not yet become a popular nicotine delivery device. By regulating flavors and diminishing teen tobacco use, the federal government protects the health of its citizens and gains fiscally in the long term by minimizing healthcare costs to treat the effects of e-cigarette addiction, costs that are ultimately borne by taxpayers. 
  • Ban on the sale and manufacture of menthol-flavored combustible cigarettes in the U.S. 
    • ​For years,  Big Tobacco has targeted communities of color with marketing campaigns centered around menthol, a flavor that masks the harsh taste of tobacco when users first use e-cigarettes and tobacco products.  According to the CDC, more than 70% of African American teens (12-17) who smoke use menthol, a significantly higher percentage than any other ethnic or racial group. Menthol makes it easier to inhale cigarette smoke and for addictive chemicals to absorb into the body. As a result, they are also likely more addictive than traditional combustible cigarettes.  Menthol was exempted from the national combustible cigarette flavor ban in the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act of 2009, and should be banned for use as a flavoring in combustible cigarettes. 
  • Increased funding for teen quitting programs and for research into nicotine cessation therapies that are safe for teenagers 
  • Increased taxes on e-cigarette purchases, ban coupons, and use e-cigarette tax revenues for evidence-based e-cigarette prevention education
  • More stringent warning requirements for e-cigarettes 
    • ​Currently, the only warning required on e-cigarette products is the statement: "This product contains nicotine. Nicotine is an addictive chemical." Yet, no warnings are required about the many harmful and fatal health conditions constantly being linked to e-cigarettes. We support policies including graphic labeling and warnings about increased susceptibility to upper respiratory infections. ​ ​
​What We've Achieved: 
  • Tobacco 21
    • ​In the federal FY 2020 spending bill, lawmakers raised the age of e-cigarette and tobacco product purchase to 21. We were proud to advocate for this policy at the federal level, and are hopeful that it will go a long way towards decreasing teen e-cigarette use. 
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Recent Action: ​
We are currently working with lawmakers, nonprofits, and other organizations supporting bills including the Reversing the Youth Tobacco Epidemic Act and the Smoke Free Schools Act of 2019, a bipartisan bill that would ban e-cigarettes and other vaping devices in schools and childcare facilities nationwide. We were proud to be quoted in sponsor U.S. Rep. Eliot Engel’s September 2019 press release publicizing this bill (available here: https://engel.house.gov/latest-news/engel-statement-on-surge-of-vapingrelated-lung-illnesses/) 
​Tobacco Taxes:

State

What We're Fighting For:
  • Ban on the sale and manufacture of menthol-flavored combustible cigarettes in the U.S. 
  • Increased funding for teen quitting programs and for research into nicotine cessation therapies that are safe for teenagers 
  • Increased taxes on e-cigarette purchases, ban coupons, and use e-cigarette tax revenues for evidence-based e-cigarette prevention education
  • Policies following the NYS #NoVapeNY e-cigarette prevention package model (described below) 
​What We've Achieved in New York State: 
  • Tobacco 21​
  • Stricter fines and penalties for violators of Tobacco 21
  • #NoVapeNY Prevention Package
    • Ban on the sale and manufacture of all flavored e-liquids
    • Ban on the sale of e-cigarettes in pharmacies​
    • Ban on e-cigarette coupon distribution 
    • Restrictions on advertising targeted to youth
    • Prohibition on distribution of coupons for e-cigarettes
    • Ended sale of tobacco and e-cigarettes in pharmacies
    • Increased DOH authority to regulate carrier oils
Recent Action
  • ​After our advocacy with state legislators, New York State passed Tobacco 21 in July 2019
  • In November 2019, we were invited as the only youth organization to testify at a NYS Senate Hearing on E-Cigarette Use (we appear at 3:44:44):
  • In December 2019, worked closely with Governor Cuomo and the Department of Health on executive actions to regulate e-cigarettes, including the Governor's 9th Proposal of the 2020 State of the State address, which enacts stricter penalties for violators of NYS's Tobacco 21 law (https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/governor-cuomo-unveils-9th-proposal-2020-state-state-cracking-down-retailers-who-sell-illegal). 
  • From November 2019-March 2020, we organized and attended countless meetings, hearings, rallies, press releases, PSA’s as part of our campaign to include Governor Cuomo's #NoVapeNY package in the FY 2021 budget. We organized multiple advocacy days with legislators, conference calls and meeting with NYS Executive Chamber staff, created a video PSA that reached over 12,000 viewers, spoke on a panel with elected officials at the State Capitol, testified at legislative hearings (see below at 3:44:44), and met privately with Governor Cuomo, Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul, and DOH Commissioner Dr. Howard Zucker. On April 2, the budget was passed with the full #NoVapeNY package! 
  • We are currently working with the Maryland DOH and local partners to pass regulations similar to those we achieved in NYS in Maryland 

Westchester County 

We played an instrumental role in the passage of Westchester's Tobacco 21 Legislation in Spring 2018. We advocated for a flavor ban and other county-level legislation that will further decrease nicotine use. After advocating for a flavor ban in Yonkers, NY, pop. 202,000, we were proud to show our support as Mayor Mike Spano signed one into law in September. Check out our quote in the press release here: ​https://www.yonkersny.gov/Home/Components/News/News/6781/3218

​Flavor Ban Policy Paper: Pros and Cons

Following a rigorous policy analysis and debate, we determined that a flavor ban would make a significant contribution to decreasing the number of teens using e-cigarettes. Please see our pro/con paper below for more information on this topic. 
Pros:
  • ​Flavors Hook Kids: Flavors mask the harsh taste of tobacco, making it easier for kids to get hooked on nicotine. ​In studies, youth cite flavors as a major reason for their current use of non-cigarette tobacco products, with 81.5 percent of youth e-cigarette users and 73.8 percent of youth cigar users saying they used the product “because they come in flavors I like.”
  • Flavors Deceive Kids: University of Stirling researchers found that “tobacco-flavouring increased harm perceptions, suggesting that awareness of the hazards of tobacco is having an effect. In contrast, fruit and sweet flavours decreased perceptions of harm.” The adolescent brain would look at the harmful impact of addiction with much less alarm.

  • Kids Hooked Themselves Want Flavors Banned: “Juulers Against Juul”, a viral PSA created by Jack Waxman to bring the then largely hidden epidemic to the public light, features four kids who Juul. The video is called “Juulers Against Juul” because they do not want to be Juuling, but, as Jack Solomon said at a speech at Trinity School on 9 October 2018, he “cannot help himself.” As they explain at the end of the video, the flavors need to be banned for their younger siblings’ sake. As Fletcher Faden (17) explains, “Banning [flavored] e-liquids would force a lot of kids to make the right choice.”
  • Flabors are Preferred by Kids Over Adults: ​Researchers at the Department of Psychology at Yale University recently published their findings in Public Library of Science: “Compared to adults, a larger proportion of adolescents preferred fruit, alcohol, and “other”- flavored e-liquids, whereas adults disproportionately preferred tobacco, menthol, mint, coffee, and spice-flavored e-liquids (p-values < .05).”Thus, “restricting the range of flavors by eliminating sweet ones may offer the most benefit to youth and young adult prevention efforts, without doing harm to adults. 
  • Banning Cigarette Flavors was Enormously Impactful: ​In the youth bracket, 8 of every 100 high school students (8.0%) reported in 2016 that they smoked cigarettes in the past 30 days, a significant decrease from 15.8% in 2011. Banning flavors in cigarettes halved the youth smoking rate in five years.
Cons:
  • ​Some Studies Show Flavors Help Smokers Quit Smoking: ​“Adult frequent e-cigarette users in the USA who have completely switched from smoking cigarettes to using e-cigarettes are increasingly likely to have initiated e-cigarette use with non-tobacco flavors and to have transitioned from tobacco to non-tobacco flavors over time. Restricting access to non-tobacco e-cigarette flavors may discourage smokers from attempting to switch to e-cigarettes.” The source of the funding raises questions regarding the study’s objectivity: “Fontem Ventures, a company that makes e-cigarettes, and a wholly owned subsidiary of Imperial Brands PLC (formerly Imperial Tobacco) provided funding for this study. Fontem Ventures had no input or control over the study design, implementation, data analysis, interpretation, or reporting of findings. The authors alone are responsible for the contents, production, and decision to submit this manuscript.” 
  • ​Banning Flavors Will Hurt Businesses Selling Flavors: In Tompkins County, vape stores, convenience stores, gas stations, and even food trucks make money by selling these flavored e-liquids.
  • Banning Flavors Might Force Local Vaping Retailers to Seek Restitution: In the aftermath of San Francisco’s Proposition E, which banned flavored e-liquids, vape shop owners say “The City should give them something in return — such as a reduction in city fees or even the right to sell cannabis — to make up for the loss”, according to San Francisco Examiner’s Joshua Sabatini. Sabatini interviews Shakib Kaileh, the owner of a small corner store in Union Square and the past president of the Arab American Grocers Association: “We’re going to have loss of income in all stores across the board.” The Department of Public Health and the Office of Economic and Workforce Development have held four public meetings inviting businesses owners to learn about the ban and offer feedback, and visited stores late last month. Health officials said they plan to revisit the stores next month to check for compliance but wouldn’t issue penalties. Enforcement with penalties won’t begin until the department adopts regulations, which is expected to be in January. The ban technically went into effect on July 20.
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How Do We Do It? 

At SAN, we believe that collaboration is essential to success, and we are always eager to share insights from our legislative advocacy experience with other advocates. Using a combination of email/petition drives, meetings with legislators, speeches at public hearings, press conferences, and more, we leverage the power of youth to turn proposed policies into reality. If you are interested in starting a local legislative advocacy initiative or want to learn more about how we amplify youth voice, fill out the contact form on our homepage!