Kathy Hochul of New York accused of double standard for banning flavored cigarettes, not cannabis

Cigarette salesmen accuse Governor Hole of double standards: they propose to ban flavored tobacco and allow the sale of fruit-flavored marijuana.

The sale of flavored vaping products is currently banned in New York City.

In her 2023 public policy agenda, Hochul said she would introduce legislation to expand the ban on the sale of all flavored tobacco products, such as menthol cigarettes.

The governor also proposed a $1 tax increase on cigarettes, from $4.35 to $5.35 per pack.

“These actions are expected to reduce the number of young people who smoke cigarettes by 9%, prevent 22,000 young people from becoming adult smokers and prevent smoking-related premature deaths,” Hochul said.

At the same time, Housing Works, the non-profit supplier that operates New York City’s first cannabis dispensary in Manhattan, sells a range of THC products that are flavored or with nice-sounding scents and names.

On its website, Housing Workers advertised cannabis vape pens with names such as Pineapple, Tropical Runtz, Bubba Kush, Pre Bubba Kush, Airlum, Tahoe, Pink Grapefruit and Grain Milk. “.

Housing Works also sells “Sour Green Apple” edibles and flower herbs with names such as “BlueBerry Danish”, “Wedding Cake”, “Banana Runtz”, “Gush Mints”, “Gorilla Blue”, “Purple Punch” and ” Space Queen. “.

Meanwhile, according to Sheriff Anthony Miranda, cannabis-flavored products, such as chewy foods, are sold in some of the 1,400 unlicensed smoke shops in the city.

The governor’s actions smack of hypocrisy, they blame merchants and tobacconists.

“Claiming flavored tobacco as a means of underage smoking while promoting flavored cannabis is bizarre and controversial and will only affect the lives of retail employees who will see their jobs cut,” said Kent Sopris, president of the New York Convenience Store Association. .

He added that “prohibitive policies such as banning flavors will not affect the availability of products, as they will remain readily available to consumers in neighboring states and a thriving criminal underground market, much like banned flavored vape products.”

Hochul’s office defended the proposed ban on flavored tobacco.

“Whether Big Tobacco admits it or not, the facts are clear: Cigarettes kill more than 28,000 New Yorkers every year, and Governor Hole’s bold public health proposal will save lives,” Hole spokesman Avi Small said.

The Governor’s Office also said New York’s cannabis law expressly states that cannabis advertising is prohibited if it is “in any way intended for children or other minors.”

Westchester County Executive George Latimer vetoed a similar bill last month to ban flavored cigarettes, saying there was a mismatch between the tobacco ban and the state’s promotion and licensing of recreational marijuana.

“The intersection between making certain tobacco products illegal and at the same time we are allowing the legal sale of cannabis products creates a public concern that needs to be addressed more fully,” Latimer said in his Dec. 12 veto.

The New York City Council attempted to ban menthol smoking in 2019 and 2020 but were rebuffed by opposition from the tobacco industry and civil rights activist Al Sharpton, who feared the ban would lead to a rise in the black market for tax-free flavored single cigarettes and confrontation with the police.

He specifically mentioned the death of Eric Garner in Staten Island in 2014. Garner’s mother, Gwen Carr, also opposes the law.

But the NAACP backs a menthol ban, saying the tobacco industry aggressively marketed flavored cigarettes to “communities of color” that contributed to the health of minorities.

“I’m glad Governor Hochul is taking over. This tobacco ban is on the NAACP legislative agenda,” said New York State NAACP President Hazel Dukes. “We stopped taking money from the tobacco companies because of the higher death rate among African Americans and brown communities.”

Dukes insisted that tobacco and cannabis be treated as separate issues and dismissed comparison in terms of prohibition as “apples and oranges”.

Brooklyn City Council member Rita Joseph is pushing for legislation to ban the sale of menthol, mint, and wintergreen flavored cigarettes in the city.