I fully support the Falmouth Town Council’s proposed ban of the sale of flavored tobacco and vaping products by vendors operating within the town. This proposed ban was part of a bill before the Legislature this past year that passed in the Senate but unfortunately was tabled by the House. Individual cities and towns like Portland, South Portland, Brunswick, Rockland and Bar Harbor have enacted this ban within their city limits, and I hope Falmouth will follow.
I am a retired cardiologist who has dealt for decades with the clinical consequences of tobacco habituation. Arterial plaques causing heart attacks and obstructive disease in the legs, cancers of the mouth and tongue, of the lungs and esophagus are commonly developed over a lifetime. Habits are often formed early on in teenage years.
The purpose of menthol in cigarettes and flavors like bubble gum and various fruits are designed by tobacco companies to attract and habituate young people – creating an addicted consumer population that will suffer the medical consequences years in the future. This is why these nefarious additives have been promoted – to addict their potential lifetime customers.
The Falmouth Town Council will be wise to enact this proposed ban. I hope the Maine state Legislature will see the wisdom of the towns than have acted similarly and make the ban statewide.
Peter Shaw
Falmouth
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