“Last June, Massachusetts’ ban on all flavored tobacco products was implemented with full force. As a result, menthol cigarettes, flavored vapes, and smokeless tobacco are no longer available for sale in the Bay State — legally that is. Business owners, politicians, and economists warned state officials that prohibition would supercharge the illicit tobacco market and do little to reduce tobacco use. But public health groups promised these fears were overblown and that the benefits of the flavored tobacco ban would more than make up for any costs the state might suffer. Skyrocketing cross-border sales were a predictable response to prohibition and it is bewildering why Massachusetts decided to ban these products in the first place. From June 2020 to November 2020, Massachusetts cigarette excise tax stamp sales fell 24 percent, with $62 million in revenue lost. These figures do not include Massachusetts’ losses from other flavored products like cigars, smokeless tobacco, pipe tobacco, or e-cigarettes so they represent an underestimate of the state’s overall revenue losses, with the comprehensive figure possibly breaching $100 million in lost revenue.”
ARTICLE LINK: The Failures of Flavored Tobacco Bans
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