A Quick Dive into Flavored Tobacco
- Jing Xie
- Feb 28, 2023
- 2 min read
Tobacco has been a part of human history for thousands of years. It was only recently that we realized the link between it and unimaginable numbers of cancers, heart disease, and immune system dysfunctions. Unfortunately, this revelation has not slowed down the tobacco industry’s pursuit of profits at the cost of the welfare of its surrounding community.
First of all, what is flavored tobacco?
Any type of tobacco product with added flavorings counts. This includes products such as traditional cigarettes, hookahs, cigars, and electronic cigarettes also known as vaping products. Generally, flavor is added through the tobacco itself or the included paper. There are also more unconventional methods such as flavorings inserted into the cigarette filter. The main motivation for creating flavored tobacco is so the tobacco industry can lure in consumers from the adolescent and youth population as well as cultural minorities.
Why is flavoring so heavily used and advertised?
In some flavors such as menthol, the intention is to mask the taste of the tobacco itself.
Menthol also enhances the density of nicotine receptors in the brain, which
makes the product more addictive to their users. Despite these known dangers, tobacco advertisers aggressively market menthol towards the black community to the point that 85% of black smokers show a clear preference for menthol cigarettes. For other flavors such as the traditional candy flavors found in electronic cigarettes, the motivation of big tobacco companies is to appeal to younger consumers with tastes that they are more accustomed to as well as increase social appeal of tobacco products by packaging them in bright colors and appealing designs.
What are the dangers of flavored tobacco?
Flavored tobacco intentionally targets our younger generation by mimicking some of their favorite tastes such as candy, fruit, and a variety of other youthful attractions.
It purposefully masks the aftertaste of tobacco products so users can utilize it in large quantities without realizing the amount of nicotine that they are ingesting.
Many kinds of flavoring are also dangerous intrinsically . Some popular flavors like chai release hazardous carcinogens and serious chemicals such as carbon monoxide when heated.
Some types of flavored cigarettes, such as menthol cigarettes, show higher risks of nicotine dependence and poorer health outcomes than traditional cigarettes do.
What can you do about this?
Speak to your local college or community center about increasing the availability of education and cessation resources.
If you know someone who is currently trying to quit, spend time on activities with them so you can take their mind off of smoking.
You can also take a look at the links and resources below.
Youth Tobacco Prevention:
https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/basic_information/youth/index.htm
Cessation Resources: https://www.lung.org/quit-smoking/helping-teens-quit
Citations
Comments