Sponsored: The Truth About Flavored Tobacco — and Why Ending its Sale Is a Win for San Diego

Huge Tobacco is aware of what we would like. “We” means everybody — your youngsters and their pals, your neighbors and coworkers, very long time people who smoke — even those that’ve by no means tried a puff of their life. It’s expanded past the normal technique of “lighting up” a cigarette — that glamor and attract has since handed. New methods, new flavors and new media trace at different “cool” strategies to eat tobacco.

Right here’s are the methods Huge Tobacco targets us each day:

Numerous Engaging Flavors

The common previous tan and white smelly sticks aren’t as interesting anymore. Stats present it, and Huge Tobacco is aware of it. They’ve come again with neon-colored, smooth e-cigarettes that emit a fleeting vapor. The most recent information reveals that over 2 million youngsters used e-cigarettes in 2021, in accordance with 2021 Nationwide Youth Tobacco Survey, and 85% of them use flavored tobacco merchandise. Flavors like gummy bear, chocolate and cherry dynamite encourage youngsters to lean into their curiosity, not realizing the grip nicotine can have, even on a teenager.

There’s additionally menthol cigarettes — easing these into smoking with a minty-fresh sensation, masking tobacco’s harshness and burn. Menthol cigarettes are extra interesting to first-time customers — typically youth — and are tied to much less profitable quitting charges.

Colourful Shows All Round Us

Together with a large number of flavors, you will get any colour in any neighborhood. Enter any San Diego comfort retailer they usually’re certain to be piled excessive and prominently by the cashier. A latest op-ed written by a San Diego comfort retailer proprietor notes that e-cigarettes make up 30% of their stock.

Information reveals the most typical means for youth to get e-cigarettes is thru a buddy — 33% acquire them this fashion. How does that occur? They’re in all places: Faculty restrooms, locker rooms, after faculty actions. They’re common domestically — one in 4 San Diegan excessive schoolers use e-cigarettes.

All of the Cool Youngsters Are Doing It

Tobacco merchandise encompass us, at the same time as we stream our favourite TV reveals. The Reality Initiative encapsulated this information in a latest examine, displaying that tobacco lit up the display in 2020 with “60% of younger individuals’s high 15 favourite streaming and broadcast season launch featured smoking.”

In reality, reveals like “The Queen’s Gambit,” “The Umbrella Academy,” “Euphoria,” “Household Man” and “On My Block” use frequent tobacco imagery. The examine additionally mentions tobacco depictions in common music movies, equivalent to “My Oh My” by Camila Cabello and “Heartless” by The Weeknd.

We spend plenty of time with our favourite TV characters. We quote them, we attempt to costume like them they usually encourage our actions, too. With large quantities of popular culture references and a slew of tempting sweet flavors, how can youth be protected against making an attempt vaping or smoking? And the way can long-term people who smoke stop the dependancy when our favourite actors are “smoking” on-screen on-the-daily?

San Diego has the chance to guard its communities. The Metropolis Council will vote on the SAAFE Act on Monday, April 25, to finish the sale of flavored tobacco in San Diego. Go to sandiegansvsbigtobacco.org to be taught extra.