After a state circuit court judge rejected two attempts to impose a flavored tobacco ban in Washington and Multnomah counties, legislators in Salem are gearing up to take this prohibition statewide. If enacted, House Bill 3090 would ban flavored tobacco products, depriving hundreds of thousands of Oregon smokers a much-needed offramp to less harmful alternatives.

Alternative nicotine products help smokers ditch the toxic chemicals and carcinogens found in traditional, combustible cigarettes. Flavored nicotine products provide smokers with a variety of alternatives and even leads some to unintentionally quit cigarettes after finding a more desirable product. According to our consumer data at Nicokick, a tobacco-free oral nicotine company, nearly six in 10 of our customers are former smokers who used tobacco-free nicotine pouches to quit smoking, both intentionally and unintentionally.

At Nicokick we work to ensure adults have easier access to existing, less harmful products from an array of sellers. We do this as an e-commerce company operating as a distributor to sell tobacco-free nicotine products directly to consumers via an online platform. These products include flavored and unflavored tobacco-free pouches, lozenges, gum, tablets, etc. and can be used in a variety of fashions depending on the product, including as a cessation aid to reduce the harm smokers face from traditional combustible cigarettes.

A statewide flavor ban is also counterintuitive to the harm reduction approach the state has taken with more traditional illegal substances. For instance, Oregon was the first state to decriminalize marijuana possession in 1973 and was only behind Colorado and Washington when it came to legalizing the recreational sale of marijuana. In addition, Oregon became the first state to decriminalize possession of hard drugs in an attempt to better treat and prevent future drug users.

It’s clear Oregonians are no strangers to showing compassion for those struggling with addiction, and lawmakers should extend the same sympathy to adult smokers.

State representatives have cited valid concerns regarding youth use of tobacco products, but prohibitionist policies are not the solution. In fact, teen smoking rates have plummeted to all-time lows, in part because Congress decided to raise the legal age to purchase tobacco to 21.

The U.S. is home to nearly 30 million adult smokers, and for those who wish to quit, their options to transition to less harmful alternative products continue to disappear by the day. After California’s statewide flavored tobacco ban went into effect at the end of last year, a barrage of similar bills have popped up across the country, from New Mexico to Maine, and now Oregon. But while prohibition of certain products might take them off the shelves, it doesn’t solve the problem of helping smokers quit.

As we saw with the prohibition of alcohol nearly a century ago, banning highly popular products is likely to create an illicit market. In fact, Massachusetts, the first state to implement a flavored tobacco ban in 2019, has struggled to stem the flow of illegal cigarettes coming across state lines. While some state lawmakers have called for the repeal of flavor ban legislation, the state’s Department of Revenue’s Tobacco Task Force has suggested criminalizing possession of illicit tobacco products.

If this is the future Oregon is running towards at the behest of California, it is critical lawmakers slow down and reevaluate the end goal. An illicit market is far more likely to serve younger demographics compared to a well-regulated legal market, as Oregon has already witnessed with their marijuana decriminalization efforts. Meanwhile, blanket banning flavored products in the state will rip away one of the easiest tools adult smokers have to reduce the harm of their addiction and start their journey toward a smoke-free life.

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