Bangor, Maine Cancels Plans for Flavor Tobacco Ban

Last October, the Bangor City Council passed an ordinance that made it the first city in Maine to pass a ban on flavored tobacco products. That ordinance was set to go into effect on June 1, 2022, but that will not happen due to a procedural error.

Maine requires cities to give businesses 30-days notice whenever a city is considering a new tobacco ordinance that is stricter than state law. Bangor did not do so and so the city is repealing the ordinance before it ever takes effect to avoid potential lawsuits. According to WABI, the Bangor City Council plans to pass a new law banning flavored tobacco products this summer.

The law that was set to go into effect would have banned retailers from selling and marketing flavored tobacco products and e-cigarettes—with the exception of menthol products—and established fines for retailers violating the law starting at $50-100 for a first offense and $1,000 for repeated violations. The law would not have prohibited the consumption of flavored tobacco products, rather, it just focused on the banning of the products.

Bangor is home to roughly 32,000 residents.