Cincinnati must pick up the pace on banning flavored tobacco | Editorial

(Editor's note: This editorial was first published on Jan. 14, 2024, prior to the Ohio Legislature's recent vote to prevent cities from regulating tobacco.)

Protecting youth in our city from dangers posed to their health and safety must always remain a top priority of local leaders. That's why Cincinnati City Council needs to move with a sense of urgency in passing a law banning flavored tobacco products that are blatantly being targeted to minors. Other Ohio cities have done it, including Columbus, where the law went into effect Jan. 1. So why is Cincinnati lagging behind?

The Enquirer spent nearly six months investigating our community's vaping crisis and uncovered some disturbing trends. More than 1 in 3 Ohio high school students said they tried vaping, and nearly 1 in 5 reported they were currently using vapes. Our special report detailed how disrupting vaping has been in our schools and in the lives of families who worry about the long-term health effects on their children. In two school districts where the Enquirer reviewed records, there were more than 1,000 reports filed of kids caught vaping at school. Then, there are the very real health risks associated with vaping such as scarring in the bronchioles, otherwise known as popcorn lung, that comes from inhaling diacetyl, a chemical added to vape liquid to enhance taste.

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It is true that in Ohio and Kentucky, you must be 21 or older to purchase tobacco products, but that's still not stopping minors from getting their hands on these flavored vapes. The Enquirer's analysis found 177 Cincinnati area vape stores located within a 1-mile radius of a middle or high school have been cited for selling to minors. That number is more than half of all stores cited in the region. That's why stronger action is required − and now − before more young people fall prey.

Should menthol be included? Question slows flavored tobacco ban efforts.

Cincinnati Councilwoman Victoria Parks deserves credit for starting and leading the conversation on a flavored tobacco ban in the city. She's taken feedback from local business and tobacco retailers and even spoke with the American Heart Association about the matter. But it seems City Council's pace has been slowed by the same debate that befell legislators at the Statehouse: whether to include menthol in the ban of flavored tobacco.

"I'm only interested in banning the flavors – the cotton candy, the grape, orange, etc. Others on council are saying menthol, too," Parks told the editorial board. "A lot of adults smoke menthols, and I believe if you are grown, you ought to be able to do what you want to do. I don't like the idea of marketing nicotine to children. We should protect the children, but I'm not here to punish the adults for their bad habits."

Parks appears pretty dug in on that point and unlikely to move from it. Vice Mayor Jan-Michele Lemon Kearney, however, feels that menthol is just as damaging, if not as attractive to minors as the other flavors. She also noted how menthols are targeted largely to African Americans as well.

"We've got to figure out how do we stop our young people from getting ahold of these (tobacco products," Kearney told the editorial board. "It is a serious issue that needs to be addressed."

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The debate over banning menthols is worth having, but it shouldn't stand in the way of a law banning flavored tobacco from being sold in Cincinnati. Everyday that passes is one more day that a Tristate minor could become addicted, putting their health at risk.

Kearney said the city's legal department is currently reviewing the Columbus law and wants to gather data on its impact there so far. She also pointed to the need for community engagement, education and feedback on the issue before any ban or other action is finalized. These things, she said, "take a little while."

"We need to study Columbus' law – the pros and the cons – to see if it makes sense in Cincinnati," Kearney said.

The process Kearney referred to is good government. And she's right, good, sound, effective government policy usually takes time to craft well. That's why the city should have had the community engagement/education process Kearney described rolling months ago. And instead of following Columbus, it would have been nice to see the Queen City take the lead in Ohio on such an important public health crisis.

Cincinnati City Council, the mayor and city administrators need to light a fire under themselves and ban the sale of flavored tobacco, before the health and future of more minors go up in smoke.

Opinion and Engagement Editor Kevin S. Aldridge writes this on behalf of The Enquirer's editorial board, which includes Editor Beryl Love, Senior News Director of Content Jackie Borchardt and community board members Jackie Congedo and Mack Mariani.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Ban on flavored tobacco should be a priority for Cincinnati leaders