Letter: Many Oakland stores use loopholes to get around flavored-tobacco ban

Flavored-tobacco ban just
a start in Oakland’s battle

Oakland residents and public health advocates are celebrating the banning of flavored tobacco, including menthol, which Oakland City Council unanimously passed in 2017. This ban took effect July 1, 2018.

A year later, the ramifications of banning of flavored tobacco can be observed in many of the convenience stores that have complied with the ruling.

However, many others have managed to find loopholes in the ruling that allows store owners to continue selling flavored tobacco in their stores.

The Tobacco Prevention Peer Health educators from La Clinica knew that passing the flavored-tobacco ban was only the beginning of the battle to ensure that Oakland becomes a tobacco-free zone for future generations. The flavored-tobacco ban ordinance doesn’t violate anyone’s rights; the intention of the ban is to protect children and youth from being exposed to flavored tobacco and menthol.

Claudia Briones
Health Education Supervisor at La Clinica de La Raza
Oakland

 

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