Looks like the ban in California on flavored tobacco that took effect almost a year ago has not been working very well.
The state lawmakers who passed the law that created the ban on the sale of e-cigarettes and vaping products apparently didn’t do their homework.
A new study by U-C San Diego says a loophole in the new law has allowed flavored tobacco products including menthol cigarettes to still be bought on line. And they are. The U-C study discovered that the law that bans the sale defines tobacco retailers as vending machines and “buildings from which tobacco products are sold.”
In other words, the state lawmakers who drafted aimed at banning flavored tobacco e-cigarettes forgot about e-commerce.
The good news is that some local governments, like the city and the county of San Diego passed ordinances that do ban online sales of flavored tobacco. But as one of the U-C researchers told the San Diego Union Tribune, “If you want these products, you can get them from a quick Google search. You don’t have to dig very far.
And just ask teachers and students at some local middle and high schools and they’ll tell you that vaping still goes on in bathrooms and elsewhere on their campuses.
That’s a sign that a ban on these flavored tobaccos that heavily target young people could use some strengthening and enforcement.
(Photo Getty Images)
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