Benton County passed a resolution Tuesday affirming its support for ending the sale of flavored tobacco products and urging the state to take up the issue again in the 2025 legislative session. A bill advanced in the 2023 session before a lawmaker walk-out curtailed much of the state’s important business.
The resolution states, in part, “The Benton County Board of Commissioners strongly encourages the Oregon Legislature to pass legislation ending the sale of flavored tobacco products, including menthol. We must act immediately to protect youth and targeted communities from the tobacco industry’s candy-flavored and minty-menthol tobacco used to lure young people into a lifetime of addiction.”
In Oregon, tobacco use is the leading cause of preventable death and disease, killing more than 8,000 people each year. More than 80% of kids who have used tobacco started with a flavored product, and nearly 90% of youth e-cigarette users report using flavored products.
Today’s vote was lauded by Flavors Hook Oregon Kids, a statewide coalition of more than 60 diverse organizations focused on protecting the health of Oregon kids by ending the sale of flavored tobacco products.
“As students prepare to head back to school, Big Tobacco continues to target them with kid-friendly flavored products that deliver massive doses of nicotine, making them more addictive than ever,” said Christina Bodamer of the American Heart Association. “We join Benton County and local jurisdictions across Oregon in urging the state legislature to end the sale of these dangerous products.”
In 2021-22, Washington County and Multnomah County passed ordinances ending the sale of flavored tobacco. Benton County joins Deschutes County, Klamath County, and more than a dozen local jurisdictions in Oregon that have called for a statewide law. Nine cities have urged state action, including Siletz, Newport, Depoe Bay, Waldport, Beaverton, Lake Oswego, Milwaukie, Happy Valley, and Salem. Similar action has been taken by school districts in Parkrose, Tigard-Tualatin, and Klamath Falls City.
By Michael Cox for Flavors Hook Oregon Kids. This guest commentary may or may not reflect the views of The Corvallis Advocate, or its management, staff, supporters and advertisers.
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