Flavored cigars popularity with young people helped ignite Council member Eleanor Revelle’s call for a ban on all flavored tobacco product sales
By Bob Seidenberg
Snuffed out once, an Evanston City Council member has proposed for a second time that the city adopt a comprehensive ban on the sale of all flavored tobacco products within Evanston.
Seventh Ward Council member Eleanor Revelle at the Oct. 23 City Council meeting reintroduced her proposal for a total ban; her colleagues voted 6-3 in favor of introducing the proposal.
Council members are expected to vote on the issue at their Nov. 13 meeting.
Revelle’s original ordinance, which in June called for a total ban, revised by Human Services Committee members at their Oct. 2 meeting.
The committee at that meeting voted 3-2 to support a motion from Council member Devon Reid, 8th Ward, to ban only flavored e-cigarettes, vapes and conventional menthol cigarettes, and not extend the ban to the sale of all other flavored tobacco products.
“No other community in Illinois is banning menthol,” Reid argued at the time. “And you know we’ll be joining a number of [jurisdictions] that have banned e-cigarettes, so that is a huge step forward.”
In reintroducing her ordinance Monday, Revelle cited testimony local health experts presented earlier in the meeting,stressing the importance of having a truly comprehensive ban on all tobacco products.
“And in particular, I think, it’s been interesting,” she said to Council members about her decision, “the more we come back and talk about this, to learn more about tobacco products. I hadn’t realized that cigars were such a big deal for young people. But cigars are the second-most popular tobacco product among us after e-cigarettes, so I think making sure that we have a comprehensive ban that covers all the different options out there is where our community should be.”
Both Reid and Sixth Ward Council member Thomas Suffredin raised concern about the impact on local businesses.
During public comment, David Spross, executive director of the National Association of Tobacco Outlets, which includes several Evanston stores, had warned Council members that a ban would hurt responsible retail merchants and lead to customers going to neighboring cities to buy their preferred tobacco products.
Reid spoke of his record, challenging the local business community, if their policies were not in the best accord with the community.
In this case, though, he warned council members that some businesses might close if the change is enacted.
“Tobacco is a significant source of revenue for a number of our businesses,” he said. He said Council members also need to take into account what the budget impacts will be.
“We’re looking to fill a $3 million hole,” he said. “And when we cut off menthol cigarettes and all other flavored products what impact is that going to have on our budget,” He addedh
A chance to be a health leader
Suffredin asked officials their policy objective behind the move.
To that question, Kristin Meyer, the city’s Community Health Specialist, said the Health Department’s policy objective is to prevent initiation of tobacco utilization among youth. “And we have the chance to be public health leaders for the state,” she said of the city which in 2005 was one of the first communities to ban smoking in public places. “We know we’ve set precedents for tobacco use time and time again in Evanston and we have a chance to do this again,” she added.
“We really do need a comprehensive ban,” she continued. “It’s going to be very hard to pick and choose which tobacco products we do enforce and it’s just going to be very difficult for our health inspectors. And we know that tactic of the tobacco industry is to create new products that do skirt the regulations.”
Suffredin questioned, however, whether the adult residents of the city tell us to regulate their behavior “in a way that maybe this council thinks that they do.
“I support anything that enhances penalties or enforcement for underage tobacco sales,” he said, “but I think that we’re making a mistake in assuming that adults need us to tell them what legal products they can consume or purchase in the city of Evanston.”
Meyer acknowledged that the reality is that adults would be able to drive to other communities to purchase their products. “However, this policy would prevent youth from adopting those behaviors in the first place, by buying them within walking distance of their community.”
Suffredin suggested that logic wasn’t a sure thing either, with youth walking or biking to other communities as well.
He argued, “if our goal is to keep it out of the hands of people under the age of 21, there are other ways to do that. We don’t have a complete understanding of what the impact would be on specific businesses as well.”
He argued the proposed ordinance is more about legislating adult behavior in the purchase of a legal product.
“I think it can be achieved in a much more narrow policy than what is proposed,” he said.
Reid pointed out that youth usage of flavored e-cigarettes is about 10%, according to a 2022 Food and Drug Administration study.
“When you look at other flavored tobacco products, “Yes, flavored cigars come in second place,” but the usage there is about 1%. So it’s a pretty big gap.”
But Council member Jonathan Nieuwsma, 4th Ward, was succinct in his support for Revelle’s proposal.
“Smoking is bad. We know it’s bad,” he said. “One of our six City Council goals is public health. I agree with Council Reid that I would prioritize public health over economic development, which is another one of our city council goals. We’re going to often be asked to make judgment calls to choose between conflicting goals and in this case, the choice is not that difficult for me.”
Revelle noted that one of the specific objectives in those goals was to reduce citywide smoking rates from 12.6% to 10%. “So we are really increasing our focus on smoking,” she said.
Council members voted 6-3 to introduce her amendment for a total ban, moving the issue to a final vote on Nov. 13.
Voting in support were Council members Clare Kelly, 1st Ward; Melissa Wynne, 3rd Ward; Nieuwsma; Revelle; and Juan Geracaris, 9th Ward.
Voting “No” were Council members, Krissie Harris, 2nd Ward; Bobby Burns, 5th Ward and Suffredin.
Before Council discussion, a number of local health advocates spoke in support of the original proposal to ban the sale of all flavored tobacco products.
Chance to be ‘on the right side of history’
Dr. Bruce Doblin, a general internist with more than 35 years of experience, much of it in Evanston, told Council members, “It is known that flavored tobaccos are the way that most young adults start smoking. People who started smoking at a young age find it more addictive physically and much harder to quit. And if you look at minority communities, 80 to 85% of those in Black and Brown communities, probably true here in Evanston, use menthol tobacco products. So, there’s a health equity issue here, in addition to a health issue,” he said.
Another speaker, Emma Daisy, president of the Illinois Academy of Family Physicians and parent of a District 65 student, noted, “Nearly a decade ago you guys were leaders in the making our city the first in Illinois to increase tobacco sales from age 18 to 21 through the passage of Tobacco 21.
“You have the chance again to be leaders and be on the right side of history on this one,” she told Council members.
“Flavored cigarettes, including menthol cigarettes, flavored cigars and new cigarettes that come in 1000s of candy-colored flavors are what we’re trying to ban right now. The tobacco industry knows that most users start in their teens, they want to hook people young.
“In fact, a Centers for Disease Control study found that more than 80% of high school students and nearly 75% of middle school students who reported using it tobacco products in the last 30 days use a flavored one,” she said.
“And lots of patients say that they want to quit. I have lots of patients who say that they can’t quit that they’ll never quit and they’ll quit when they die.
“But I never have anyone say I’m glad I started,” she told council members.
