A County vs Big Tobacco- Fighting Flavors and Defending Kids

I know we have talked about how Big Tobacco fights flavoring bans at the local level, and today on the podcast, we talk about a county trying to fight back against flavored tobacco. Flavors are designed to hook new users to nicotine products. On this episode, I am joined by Carrie Nyssen of the American Lung Association, who describes the current battle for the health of kids that is on the May ballot in Washington County. Dr. Lisa Reynolds has practiced pediatrics for over 20 years in Washington County, serves in the OR legislature, and shares her perspective. Dr. Maxine Dexter is a fellow lung and ICU doctor for adults, and represents many of the people in Washington County in the Oregon House. Today we cover a specific example of a population of kids affected by flavored tobacco, the toll of flavored nicotine products, and what we can do about it. We also walk through many of the arguments opposed to these bans and why they are often misleading.

To Do:

- If you are in Washington County, OR, please vote NO on measure 34-314 on the May 2022 ballot and encourage your friends and neighbors to do the same. If you live outside Washington County but know voters inside it, please reach out to make sure they vote.  Go to FlavorsHookOregonKids.org to learn more.

- Post on social media and consider writing an Op-Ed about why you support a ban on flavored nicotine products.

- Find out if there is a flavor ban being considered in your county or state, and do what you can to support it.

- Write to your members of Congress and ask them to take action against flavored nicotine at the national level.

- Learn more about flavored tobacco, the history of menthol and targeting of the black community, as well as other tactics by Big Tobacco by listening to the podcast episode “A Heartbreaking Trap” and reading accompanying materials here.

-  Learn more about health effects of e-cigarettes in the podcast episode “Gambling with Your Lungs” and reading more here. Learn more about the impact of flavors here.

- Learn more about how you or a loved one can break free of the nicotine habit here.

- Donate to the American Lung Association to help amazing people like Carrie keep advocating for the health of our communities.

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