Ban on flavored tobacco in Evanston, Illinois to take effect April 1
EVANSTON, Ill. (CBS) -- The City of Evanston will soon be banning sales of all flavored tobacco products.
The ban will take effect April 1. The city called it a "critical step in safeguarding the public from the predatory marketing practices employed by the tobacco industry, particularly those disproportionately targeting Black consumers and young people, leading to disparate health outcomes."
The ban includes a vast range of products – among them flavored cigarettes, cigars, vaping items, pipe tobacco, and rolling papers. The flavors affected include menthol.
The ban specifically includes "menthol flavors such as mint, wintergreen, chocolate, cocoa, vanilla, honey, or any candy, fruit, dessert, alcoholic beverage, herb, or spice or any tobacco product that contains a cooling or numbing sensation."
Mainstream cigarette brands such as Marlboro Ice, Camel Crush Regular to Fresh, Camel Jade and Jade Sliver, and American Spirit Green and Dark Green box are on a "non-exhaustive" list of banned products. Popular menthol cigarette brands such as Kool, Newport, and Salem did not appear on the "non-exhaustive" list, though a pack of Kool cigarettes did appear on a poster highlighting the ban.
The ordinance does not make it illegal to buy or possess flavored tobacco products in Evanston. It only bans tobacco retailers from selling them.
Businesses that violate the ban could face fines, and for repeated offenses, they could have their tobacco retail licenses revoked.
A proposed Food and Drug Administration ban on menthol cigarettes nationwide has yet to be finalized by the Biden administration.