Doug Shaw, the owner of Sanctuary Tobacco for 26 years, expects to retire and close his shop if efforts to ban flavored tobacco in California are successful. Lawmakers in the state are considering a ban because of growth in the use of flavored tobacco products like e-cigarettes or vaporizers by teenagers. Yet Shaw sells none of those products. In fact, as he puts it in blunt terms, “My product [pipe tobacco] does not appeal to young people.”
Despite being far from the intended target of banning cotton candy-flavored vaping juice, traditional tobacco shops across California nevertheless are caught in efforts to ban the sale of flavored tobacco products statewide…
Read the full op-ed as it was published by The Orange County Register.
CGO scholars and fellows frequently comment on a variety of topics for the popular press. The views expressed therein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Center for Growth and Opportunity or the views of Utah State University.