Colorado Legislature to Debate Ban on Flavored Tobacco

A bill has been introduced into the Colorado Legislature that would ban the sale of all flavored tobacco and nicotine products.

House Bill 1064 was introduced on Jan. 14 by Reps. Kyle Mullica, D-34, and Jennifer Bacon, D-7, along with Sens. Kevin Priola, R-25, and Rhonda Fields, D-29. It seeks to prohibit the sale, distribution, advertising and marketing of flavored tobacco products, including cigars, as well as e-cigarettes and products containing synthetic nicotine. The penalties for doing so would be the same as selling tobacco products to minors.

This would mean that such products would only be allowed to impart the taste or smell of tobacco, prohibiting flavors including menthol, fruit, mint, alcohol, candy, chocolate, vanilla, honey and others.

The bill also directs the prevention services division in the department of public health and environment to convene a working group to develop and implement a grant program to address the needs of communities disproportionately impacted by tobacco and nicotine marketing, sales, and use.

If passed and signed into law, the ban would go into effect July 1, 2022. It has been assigned to the House Health & Insurance Committee.

Patrick Lagreid

I strive to capture the essence of a cigar and the people behind them in my work – every cigar you light up is the culmination of the work of countless people and often represents generations of struggle and stories. For me, it’s about so much more than the cigar – it’s about the story behind it, the experience of enjoying the work of artisans and the way that a good cigar can bring people together. In addition to my work with halfwheel, I’m the public address announcer for the Colorado Rockies and Arizona Diamondbacks during spring training, as well as for the Salt River Rafters of the Arizona Fall League, the WNBA's Phoenix Mercury and previously the Arizona Rattlers of the Indoor Football League. I also work in a number of roles for Major League Baseball, plus I'm a voice over artist. Prior to joining halfwheel, I covered the Phoenix and national cigar scene for Examiner.com, and was an editor for Cigar Snob magazine.