Vulnerable and minority populations — including women, populations of color, youth, sexual minority, and low-socioeconomic status populations — disproportionately use flavored tobacco products. Local sales restrictions on these products may reduce disparities if the laws reach vulnerable populations.
Researchers reviewed policies as of Dec. 31, 2018 and found 189 local policies across seven states regulating flavored tobacco products, including e-cigarettes. They linked jurisdictions with race/ethnicity, gender, age, proportion of households with same-sex partners, household poverty and policy strength. Almost 99% (187) of the policies in place restricted flavored e-cigarette sales.
Authors compared the policy jurisdictions with the national U.S. population to determine if policies reached vulnerable populations equitably. Subpopulations who were overrepresented in the locations with policies (relative to their representation in the nation) were said to be “favorably” reached, while subpopulations who were underrepresented in the locations with policies were said to be “unfavorably” reached.
While policies that restricted the sale of flavored tobacco products favorably reached young adults aged 18-24, they did not favorably reach youth under age 18. American Indians/Alaska Natives and Native Hawaiians/Pacific Islanders were also less protected by flavored tobacco policies — a concerning finding since current tobacco use among middle and high school students in these groups (20.6% and 23.4%, respectively) is higher than any other racial/ethnic group.