THIS IS NOT
APPLE JUICE.
it’s
flavored
tobacco.
The tobacco industry has a kids menu.
Why Flavors?
Flavors mask the harsh taste of tobacco, making it easier for kids to get hooked on nicotine. The tobacco companies know this.* They also know that flavor means a whole lot more. It’s how we celebrate, how we nurture, and in many cases, how we pass down culture in kitchens all over California.
The emotional ground they’re mining is giving way to a terrifying number of flavors, crafting a more-is-more mentality by which kids can always say, I haven’t tried that one. Yet.*
With thousands of flavors, you might wonder how they haven’t run out of options. Here’s the trick. Not all their flavors are actual flavors. To maximize profit potential, they moved beyond the limits of what kids taste, and into more sacred space of what kids imagine. Cha-ching. Just like that, their product line is boundless. And customized for curiosity.
15,500
tobacco flavors and counting
EASIER TO SMOKE, HARDER TO SPOT
Even if they didn’t mean to attract kids (history suggests otherwise), that’s what they did. You’d think they’d change their tactics to stop more from coming. Instead, they continued to transform their drug into the stuff of childhood, and hook the kids we work so hard to protect.
This is a test
Can you pick out which are tobacco products and which are innocent kid things? Click to play.
While you were learning about your kids’ favorite flavor the tobacco industry was, too.
KNOW THE SIGNS
How are kids getting it?
While California State Law prohibits the sale of tobacco products to anyone under 21, kids get it. Here are six common ways:
- Vape products are all over social media, and many promote the sale of their products right from their accounts.
- Website age gates are easily bypassed, and kids use a parent’s name for shipping. In fact, kids successfully buy e-cigs online 94% of the time.*
- Clerks at tobacco shops, vape stores, gas station and convenience store might not enforce the law to not sell to anyone under 21 years old.
- Many vape companies have names that wouldn’t raise a red flag on parents’ credit card statements.
- Online orders can be delivered to Amazon lockers in supermarkets or convenience stores.
- Orders can also be shipped to the homes where parent(s) are at work when the mail comes.
How to tell if your kid is vaping?
- If their room smells artificially sweet, don’t assume it’s a scented candle.*
- Nosebleeds are common among Juul users.*
- Many vapors report increased thirst.*
- There is often a heightened caffeine sensitivity.*
4 of 5
kids who have used tobacco started with a flavored product.*
The brain’s peak period for developing
addiction starts in adolescence.*
Early exposure to nicotine paves
a pathway for addiction of all kinds.*
The less dangerous tobacco seems to teens,
the more they use it.*
Why Kids?
Timeline
1930s
Tobacco companies work with candy manufacturers to market candy cigarettes, which were later linked to an increased risk of smoking
1978
Lorillard tests new flavors including Marshmallow, Cherry, and Tutti-Frutti, described as for
“younger people, beginner cigarette smokers, teenagers
and those who
want to be reminded of bubblegum.*”
1990s
R.J. Reynolds significantly increases its flavors. Internal industry documents reveal the emphasis on flavors as part of their attempt to hook “Tidal Wave 2,” the generation that became known as millennials.
“Realistically, if our company is to survive and prosper, over the long term
we must get our share of the youth market”
— R.J. Reynolds,
Makers of Winston, Camel, Salem
2009
Menthol, a popular flavor among kids because it eases the harsh taste that comes with smoking*
was left out of the ban.
And because it was the only flavored cigarette left
sales lifted immediately
following the ban.
2010s
Manufacturers alter flavored cigarettes to qualify as “little cigars,” evading FDA rules for years.* Sales of flavored cigars increase nearly 50% from 2008 to 2015.* The industry also ramps up product development in variety of flavors and smoking devices.
2014
E-cigarette flavors in the marketplace, double from
7,764
15,586
in three years.
2018
Juul, dubbed the iPhone of vaporizers, reaches critical mass. The best-selling e-cig on the market, available in 6 flavors,
Juul commands 56.4% of the e-cig market share, and racks up
$224 million in sales
in one fiscal year.*
The startup reports a struggle keeping up with the massive demand.
Users also struggle. In fact Juuling in high schools has become such a problem some schools have resorted to removing doors off bathroom stalls. And punishment has moved into addiction treatment plans.
Don’t miss the tobacco industry’s latest scam.
Health Facts
Cigarillos come in lots of flavors and have
3
x
the tobacco of cigarettes, and can lead to lung and oral cancers, plus heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and aortic aneurysms.*
Tobacco use kills more Americans than AIDS, alcohol, motor vehicles, homicide, illegal drugs and suicide
COMBINED*
E-juice causes arterial stiffness, associated with an increased risk of
heart attacks and strokes
in later life.* And there are more than 15,500 flavors of e-juice on the market so far.
BRAIN SCIENCE FOR REGULAR PEOPLE
To explain why the tobacco industry targets kids, we have to lay down a little science.
-
1
Nicotine changes the brain, which is why quitting is so hard.*
-
2
The tobacco industry profits off addiction.
-
3
The brain’s peak period to develop addiction is in adolescence.*
-
4
If you think it’s coincidence that kids are the likeliest addicts and that tobacco now tastes like candy, go back to number two.
Do something
SEND A LETTER OF CONCERN TO YOUR MAYOR:
Dear Mayor
My name is and I am a resident of .
I am writing because I am concerned about the tobacco industry’s use of flavors in their toxic products to lure kids into lifelong addiction. The tobacco industry doesn’t stop at the use of flavors, it also uses kid-friendly packaging to deceive kids into thinking their products are harmless. This, coupled with unchecked online purchasing, gets tobacco products past parents and teachers and straight into the hands of kids. All of this is a recipe for disaster.
The tobacco industry’s use of flavors is very strategic, as it targets the age group most susceptible to addiction. The youth in our area face enough challenges in this time of their development. We should be setting them up for success, not saddling them with addiction that could torment them all their lives. They deserve better.
I ask for your leadership in addressing how we can keep our kids safe from an industry determined to do them harm.
Sincerely,
FIND A TOBACCO CONTROL PROGRAM NEAR YOU
Local tobacco control programs are located throughout the state. Services they provide may include:
- Information about how you can help keep kids away from toxic, addictive tobacco products
- In-person cessation support programs or referrals to programs in your area
- Information and/or assistance in dealing with secondhand smoke issues in your community
- Assistance in implementing smoke-free public policies
- Ensuring that tobacco retailers comply with state and local licensing laws
- Monitoring tobacco industry activities in your community
Local tobacco control programs are located throughout the state. Services they provide may include:
- Information about how you can help keep kids away from toxic, addictive tobacco products
- In-person cessation support programs or referrals to programs in your area
- Information and/or assistance in dealing with secondhand smoke issues in your community
- Assistance in implementing smoke-free public policies
- Ensuring that tobacco retailers comply with state and local licensing laws
- Monitoring tobacco industry activities in your community
Enter your zip code to find your tobacco control program.
INTERESTED IN JOINING A LOCAL TOBACCO CONTROL COALITION?
Sign up to find out how you can help stop the tobacco industry from targeting our children.
THANK YOU
for submitting your information. Your local Tobacco Control Coalition will contact you shortly.
SHARE WILDLY
The tobacco industry’s success hinges on their ability to deceive us. Get this in front of as many eyes as you can. We can’t stop it if we don’t see it.
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ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
-
US Surgeon General, Know the Risks: E-cigarettes & Young People
Get tips on how the talk with your teen can be a successful experience for both of you.
Visit Resource -
Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, The Flavor Trap
Get a handle on the tobacco industry’s tactics, both current and past, to hook kids for life.
Visit Resource -
New York Times, The Juul is Too Cool
Learn about the cultural impact of the Juul e-cig from this kid-focused on-the-ground reporting.
Visit Resource