This Halloween, the Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust (TSET) is reminding parents, teachers, health care providers and community leaders about the dangers of flavored tobacco and vaping products disguised to mimic candy and other treats.

“Flavorings make it easier to start using tobacco or vape products,” said TSET Executive Director Julie Bisbee. “The staggering use of flavored tobacco products by youth threatens to reverse more than 20 years of gains made in tobacco prevention. Now a new generation of Oklahomans stand to suffer a lifetime of addiction and poor health as the tobacco industry profits.”

Research shows that flavored tobacco products have played a major role in the increase of tobacco use among youth, particularly e-cigarettes.

Four out of 5 kids who have used tobacco started with a flavored product, whether traditional cigarettes, smokeless tobacco, e-cigarettes or nicotine-only products, which are gaining in popularity.  Nearly 31% of Oklahoma high school youth reported currently using one or more tobacco products, including e-cigarettes, according to the most recent data available. The CDC has stated that no tobacco use is safe for youth. Nicotine addiction affects the brain, which continues to develop until age 25. The younger a person is when they start using tobacco, the higher their risk of addiction and premature death.

Although federal law prohibits selling cigarettes with candy and fruit flavors, other tobacco products like little cigars, hookah, smokeless tobacco, and e-cigarettes — also known as vapes — are exempt. These products come in a variety of flavors, including bubble gum, candy and fruit. Menthol, a popular flavor among youth, is also exempt from the flavor ban and is still found in cigarettes, smokeless tobacco and vape products.

For information, go to TSET.OK.GOV/order.