A bill to ban flavored nicotine products in Oregon got a first hearing Tuesday, with wording broad enough, according to Sen. Lisa Reynolds, to include any flavored product that contains tobacco or nicotine and “things we haven’t thought of yet.” If passed, Senate Bill 702 would ban the sale or distribution of any “flavored inhalant delivery system products or flavored tobacco products” in the state.
“The bill would also ban promotional giveaways and other free distribution of all tobacco products, whether flavored or not, and it would require all cigarettes, vapes, and smokeless tobacco products to be sold only at licensed retailers,” Anthony Macuk wrote for KGW8.
Dozens of people testified about the bill at the hearing before the Senate Committee on Early Childhood and Behavioral Health. Students, parent advocates, and lawmakers mainly focused on the health risks of tobacco and the appeal of flavored vapes to teens and young people. However, several tobacco shop owners testified that it’s already illegal for people under 21 to purchase vaping and tobacco products, and said an across-the-board ban on flavored products would heavily damage their businesses and create an expanded and empowered black market for flavored products. Others, including Sen. David Brock Smith, argued that vapes and smokeless tobacco products are less harmful to users’ health than traditional cigarettes and that banning the alternatives would push some users back towards the more damaging products.