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ACS CAN Lauds Court Decision Backing NYC Ban on Sale of Flavored Tobacco
February 27, 2013
Statement by Michele Bonan, New York City Advocacy Director for the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN)
New York, NY - February 27, 2013 – “The U.S. District Court ruling that upheld New York City’s ban on the sale of flavored tobacco products is an important win in the fight against cancer. Fruit and candy flavored tobacco products are one of the most predatory tobacco industry tactics--aimed at luring a new generation of youth into life-long addiction.”
“Mayor Bloomberg, Speaker Christine Quinn and the New York City Council deserve high praise for their bold work to ban these dangerous products. ACS CAN urges Governor Cuomo and the state Legislature to expand this important public health protection to all of New York State.”
Each day more than 3,500 kids under the age of 18 try their first cigarette, and more than 900 become established smokers. It is a top priority to prevent big tobacco from recruiting youth to join the more than 400,000 people who die each year from tobacco related disease. New York City was the first community in the nation to enact a ban on certain flavored tobacco products, with local law 69 of 2009, specifically restricting “any tobacco product or component part thereof that contains a constituent that imparts a characterizing flavor.” New York City’s law goes farther than federal ban which only prohibits flavored cigarettes.
In 2013, it is estimated that more than 11,000 New Yorkers will die from cancers caused by smoking, making it the leading cause of cancer deaths.
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