Flavored Cannabis Marketing criticized for Targeting Kids

For decades, health advocates have chided the tobacco industry for marketing harmful nicotine products to children, resulting in more cities and states, like new york, outlawing flavored tobacco products, including e-cigarettes.

as cannabis shops proliferate across the country, the same concerns are growing over the packaging and marketing of flavored cannabis, that critics say could entice

children to partake of products labeled “mad mango,” “loud lemon” and “peach dream.”

inside new york’s first licensed recreational marijuana outlet, run by the nonprofit

housing works, shelves of marijuana, brim with vape cartridges suggesting flavors of

pineapple, grapefruit, and cereal milk, written in rainbow bubble letter print.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced the upcoming opening of the state’s second legal dispensary, which will be located in Manhattan’s West Village. The new venture — called “Smacked” — will open as a pop-up next week before opening a permanent location.

A juvenile found in possession of marijuana might be fined up to $50 under state law. Cannabis merchants with permits who sell to minors risk penalties and license revocation but not jail time.

Science has known for a long time that nicotine is addictive and that smoking tobacco causes diseases like emphysema and cancer.

The effects of vaping on health are less clear, especially for young children whose bodies and internal organs are still growing.

While teen and young adult tobacco cigarette consumption has decreased, e-cigarette and vape use has increased.

Most flavored tobacco products, including e-cigarettes and vapes, are prohibited in a select few states, including California, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, and Rhode Island. Similar restrictions are in place in a growing number of places, including New York City.

However, such regulations must be expanded to cover marijuana, according to Linda Richter of the Partnership to End Addiction, who claims that the problem has not yet received adequate attention.

She claimed that the cannabis sector is subject to very less rules, regulations, restrictions, and scrutiny compared to the tobacco industry.

She continued by saying that because the legalized business is still relatively young, states have not yet unified their regulations under a single federal norm. The federal government is frequently looked to for setting these rules, although marijuana is still prohibited at the federal level.

In order to develop guidelines to prevent marketing that appeals to young people, Richter said, “it’s a significant difficulty where you don’t have the weight of the federal government in terms of norms of packaging and marketing.”