Lowell ’ s Flavored Tobacco Restrictions Cut Teen Use, Study Suggests

(CNN) — Limiting kids’ access to flavored tobacco products like e-cigarettes, smokeless tobacco and cigars seems to work, according to a new study that looks at two towns that took different approaches to vaping in Massachusetts. That will come as good news to the governments that are adding more restrictions on flavors. The number of kids who used flavored tobacco has increased significantly nationwide, and studies find that kids who use flavors may be more likely to develop a regular tobacco habit. The study, running in Thursday’s edition of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, found that laws that limit kids’ access to flavored products worked to change that trend. In 2016, Lowell restricted the sale of flavored tobacco products to retail tobacco stores where only adults 21 and older were allowed. It’s a policy change that has been shown to work in other communities. Malden, a town 30 miles away with similar demographics, had no flavor restrictions. In Lowell, after the policy went into place, the number of flavored products sold per retailer decreased significantly and so did kids’ use of all tobacco products, not just products with flavor. While the students who were surveyed in both towns did not report any change in opinion about how difficult it was to get flavored products, there were big differences in how many kids used or bought them. Use of any flavored tobacco product decreased in Lowell after the policy went into plac...
Source: WBZ-TV - Breaking News, Weather and Sports for Boston, Worcester and New Hampshire - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Boston News Health Healthwatch Syndicated CBSN Boston Lowell News Malden News Teen Vaping Source Type: news