The Brunswick Town Council is expected to delay a public hearing on a proposal that would ban the sale of flavored tobacco products in town, Town Councilor Dan Ankeles said in a newsletter Monday.
The hearing was originally scheduled for Feb. 22, but, according to Ankeles, the town will be unable to hold the hearing “because of questions raised as to whether the town has fully complied with Maine’s statutory requirements around public notice.”
“So, on Tuesday’s meeting, we will need to cancel that hearing, start over from the very beginning and set a brand new one for early April in order to make absolutely certain that any action the council might or might not take is completely by the book and above board,” wrote Ankeles.
Ankeles added that, on behalf of the council and the town, he sincerely apologizes to members of the public who had prepared testimony on both sides of the proposal.
“In terms of my own feelings about the proposal, I want to respect the hearing process before making a final decision,” wrote Ankeles. “That said, these flavored products are very clearly marketed to kids, and we really need to ask ourselves as a community whether Brunswick ought to be facilitating efforts to replace the tobacco companies’ former customers who have either quit or died, with our youth. It’s a serious question, and I’ll look forward to taking it up later in the spring.”
A notification on the town’s website also indicated that the hearing is expected to be canceled and rescheduled.
As proposed, the ban would apply to any tobacco product that tastes or smells like fruit, mint, chocolate or other non-tobacco flavors. The ban would prohibit flavored tobacco and nicotine products including e-cigarettes, cigarettes, cigars, pipe tobacco and chewing tobacco.
Cessation devices approved by the Federal Drug Administration would be excluded.
If approved, Brunswick would join Portland, which approved a similar ban on Feb. 7, as well as Bangor, in banning flavored tobacco.
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