Florida Department of Health in Volusia Warns Against Candy-Flavored Tobacco

All Cities Pass Resolutions Urging Retailers Not to Sell Flavored Tobacco

Daytona Beach - Edgewater recently passed a resolution urging tobacco retailers to restrict the sale and marketing of flavored tobacco products. To date all of the cities in Volusia County have passed these resolutions. The Volusia County Council has also passed a resolution covering the unincorporated areas. Volusia County is the 39th out of 67 counties to pass resolutions in all cities. The resolutions are non-binding.

Fruit- and candy-flavored cigarettes were banned under the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act in 2009. However, menthol cigarettes, flavored cigars, cigarillos and smokeless products were not included.

There are increasingly more non-cigarette products available in Volusia County which youth are using. Tobacco products in flavors like kiwi-strawberry, chocolate and sour apple are available across the state despite overwhelming evidence that these deadly products appeal to youth and lead to a lifetime of tobacco addiction.

“Nearly 90 percent of adult smokers start before their 18th birthday,” said Ron Rondeau, interim director of the Florida Department of Health in Volusia County. “Volusia County is no exception, with one in six youth reporting that they have ever tried flavored tobacco.”

Many children and teens mistakenly believe these products are less harmful than their non-flavored counterparts. Once youth start using one tobacco product, they are more likely to experiment with others.

More than Just Cigarettes

The flavoring and lower costs of these non-cigarette smoked tobacco products make them especially appealing to youth. All of these tobacco products cause cancer, heart disease and other smoking-related diseases. Smokeless tobacco includes chew, dip, snus and a host of emerging products. Compared to cigarettes, these products can contain more nicotine. Traditional smokeless products, like chew and dip, contain 28 cancer-causing agents. Users of these products have an 80 percent higher risk of oral cancers and a 60 percent higher risk of pancreatic and esophageal cancer.

Sweet Deception

With cigarette smoking rates on the decline, the tobacco industry has created products and strategies that attract a new generation of tobacco users. The array of flavored tobacco products that appeal to youth present new challenges and concerns in the fight against tobacco use. These products help create a new generation of lifelong nicotine addicts and of life-threatening diseases.

Learn more about the dangers of candy-flavored tobacco and how you can help protect youth from this sweet deception. Visit www.tobaccofreeflorida.com/flavoredtobacco.

ABOUT TOBACCO FREE FLORIDA

Tobacco Free Florida is a statewide cessation and prevention campaign funded by Florida’s tobacco settlement fund. The program is managed by the Florida Department of Health, specifically the Bureau of Tobacco Free Florida.

Tobacco users interested in quitting are encouraged to use one of the state’s three ways to quit. To learn about Tobacco Free Florida and the state’s free quit resources, visit www.tobaccofreeflorida.com or follow the campaign on Facebook at www.facebook.com/TobaccoFreeFlorida or Twitter at www.twitter.com/tobaccofreefla.

About the Florida Department of Health

The department works to protect, promote and improve the health of all people in Florida through integrated state, county and community efforts.

Follow us on Twitter at @HealthyFla and on Facebook. For more information about the Florida Department of Health please visit www.FloridaHealth.gov.