Stop Big Tobacco from targeting Colorado kids!

Recent Poll Results Show Support for Ending the Sale of Flavored Tobacco

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The overwhelming majority of Coloradans – 8-of-10 or 80 percent of voters – are concerned about the dangers of young people smoking cigarettes, using e-cigarettes and nicotine vaping.
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A majority of voters – 6-of-10 voters or 60 percent – support a statewide law that prohibits the sale of flavored nicotine vaping products and flavored tobacco products intended to appeal to youth.
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Support for stopping the sale of flavored nicotine products crossed all demographic and ideological lines with majorities of men and women, old and young, Black, white and Hispanic, rural and urban and Republicans, Democrats and unaffiliated voters all supporting the effort.

About the Campaign

There’s a public health emergency unfolding right before our eyes — and the cause couldn’t be clearer.

More than one in four Colorado high school students use e-cigarettes. And while youth e-cigarette use nationally has declined from record-high levels reached in 2019, it remains a serious public health problem. According to the 2021 National Youth Tobacco Survey, over two million middle and high school students reported using e-cigarettes in the first half of 2021, even as many schools remained closed because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

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85%

Of youth e-cigarette users report using a flavored product in the past month.

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4 out of 5

Kids who have used tobacco started with a flavored product.

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1 in 5

High school seniors report having vaped nicotine in last month, considered current use.

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1 in 4

Colorado high school students use e-cigarettes.

The survey underscored that flavored products are driving youth use as 85% of youth e-cigarette users report using flavored products, with fruit, candy/desserts/other sweets, mint and menthol reported as the most popular flavors. Indicating the addictiveness of the products now dominating the market, 43.6% of high school e-cigarette users report frequent use (on at least 20 days a month) and 27.6% report daily use.

The main cause of the problem was Juul, a sleek, high-tech e-cigarette that looks like a USB flash drive – and is small and easy to hide, came in sweet flavors that enticed kids and delivers a powerful nicotine hit. One Juul pod delivers as much nicotine as a pack of 20 cigarettes.

But Juul isn’t the only problem. For years, thousands of e-cigarette flavors and 200 cigar flavors lured and hooked kids. Today, many of the most popular products and flavors remain readily available, including the e-cigarette brands that have the largest market share or are most popular with kids, such as Juul, most Vuse products, NJOY, blu, Smok and Suorin. These flavored tobacco products undermine Colorado’s efforts to reduce youth tobacco use.

Tobacco companies also continue to aggressively market menthol-favored cigarettes to kids, African Americans, Latinos and other demographic groups as they have for decades. Youth smokers are more likely to use menthol cigarettes than any other age group. Menthol cigarettes pose a tremendous public health threat – they make it easier to start and harder to quit smoking. African Americans smoke menthol cigarettes at high rates and quit smoking at lower rates, and African-American men have high death rates from lung cancer. That’s why the NAACP and others want to restrict the sale of menthol cigarettes – because they hurt black communities especially.

Colorado can protect our kids by ending the sale of all flavored tobacco products, one of the most promising ways to prevent the industry from addicting our kids.

Latest News

FOX 31

Flavored tobacco ban dies in Senate committee

COLORADO POLITICS

POINT | Stand up to Big Tobacco

WESTWORD

Fight Over Flavored-Tobacco Ban Moves to Colorado Legislature

Colorado Politics

Sponsors of bill banning flavored tobacco, nicotine products statewide are confident of passage

THE DAILY SENTINEL

Flavored tobacco products driving youth use

THE COLORADO SUN

Reps. Bacon and Mullica: Ban flavored tobacco and e-cigarettes

The Denver Channel ABC 7

State lawmakers introduce bill to ban the sale of flavored tobacco products

1 Juul pod delivers the same amount of nicotine as a full pack of 20 cigarettes.

Partners

ORGANIZATIONS:

City of Aspen
Pitkin County Board of County Commissioners
Pitkin County Board of Health
The Foundation for Sustainable Urban Communities
Boulder County
STRIDE Community Health Center

INDIVIDUALS:

Honorable Albus Brooks
Honorable Barbara O’Brien
Honorable Elbra Wedgeworth
Honorable Paul Lopez
Honorable Ramona Martinez
Honorable Rosemary Rodriguez
Attorney General Phil Weiser
Alisha Brown
Bill Burman, MD
Carolyn Dresler, MD, MPA
Celeste Archer
Chad Morris, PhD
Cheryl Fleetwood
Donald E. Moore
Dr. Alex Marrero
Dr. Anne Keke
Dr. Robert McCaffree
Dylan Lindsey, Student
Eagle County Commissioners Jeanne McQueeney, Kathy Chandler-Henry and Matt Scherr
Elizabeth Domangue
Golden Ward 4 Councilor Bill Fisher
Justice Onwordi
Kelli Fritts
Kevin Marchman
Kwame Spearman
Kwon Atlas
Larimer County Commissioners John Kefalas, Jody Shadduck-McNally and Kristin Stephens
Lorrie Odom, MD
Lucila Tvarkunas
Maranda Miller
Marlon Barnes
Maya Wheeler
Mayor Aaron Brockett (Boulder)
Mayor Jacki Marsh (Loveland)
Mayor John I. Clark (Ridgway)
Mayor Pro Tem JJ Trout (City of Golden)
Michel Holien
Nichelle Ortiz
Nita Gonzales
Norman Harris
Papa Dia
Paul A. Bunn, MD
Phillip Gardiner, Dr. P.H.
Portia Prescott
Tamra Koch
Trinidad A. Rodriguez
Scott Prince, Avon Town Councilor
Stacey Adimou
Susan Todd
Verónica Figoli
Wil Alston