TSET Board of Directors Approve Resolutions Covering Retailer Licensing, FDA Regulations and Youth Access to Tobacco

The Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust (TSET) Board of Directors passed three resolutions supporting stronger vapor retailer licensing, praising recent tobacco control actions by the Food and Drug Administration and recommending further efforts to reform Youth Purchase, Use, and Possession laws to reduce underage use of tobacco. The unanimous votes came at the Board’s regular meeting on Aug. 31 in Tulsa.

In one resolution, the TSET Board called on the state legislature to close loopholes in tobacco control by enacting comprehensive clean air laws, amending state law to include all new and emerging nicotine products, taxing e-cigarettes and other new products in line with traditional cigarettes and repealing measures that restrict local control of tobacco policies.

“Oklahoma has made great strides in reducing smoking, but the rise of e-cigarettes and other emerging products threatens to undo decades of progress,” said Michelle Stephens, chair of the TSET Board of Directors. “Big Tobacco found ways around the law to hook a new generation on their products by presenting them as safer options. Our laws need to catch up with the new threat these products present.”

In another resolution, the TSET Board expressed support for recent FDA actions to reduce tobacco use in the U.S., including increased regulation of e-cigarette products, prohibiting flavored cigars and menthol as a flavor in cigarettes, and the proposal to reduce the amount of nicotine in cigarettes to non-addictive or minimally addictive levels.

“The tobacco industry uses new nicotine products, like vapes, to hook young people,” Stephens said. “The use of flavored products, such as menthol, is an old trick the industry continues to use to entice new users by masking the harsh flavor of tobacco and chemicals. These recent FDA actions have the potential to save thousands of lives and billions of dollars in future health care costs.”

Finally, the TSET Board called for additional reforms to laws prohibiting youth access to tobacco. This May, Oklahoma adopted a law that eliminated fines to youth, instead requiring them to attend a tobacco cessation or prevention course. The law takes effect Nov. 1.

The TSET Board praised this move, as studies show youth tobacco education to be more effective at curbing use than fines. The new board resolution calls for additional reforms, including measures to hold retailers accountable for underage sales and funding adequate retailer education, outreach and enforcement programs.

While education will provide youth with the tools they need to quit, the problem of youth access needs to be addressed at the retail level. Nearly 75 percent of youth who tried to buy tobacco products reported they were not refused sale, according to the American Heart Association.

“A successful approach would combine education and enforcement, providing retailers with incentives and tools to keep these dangerous products out of the hands of Oklahoma youth,” said Stephens.

In several counties across Oklahoma, TSET Healthy Living Program grantees are educating local retailers and working with them to reduce and prevent the sale of tobacco and vaping products to anyone under the age of 21. That work is happening in coordination with the ABLE Commission, Oklahoma State Department of Health and the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services. TSET would like to see similar work done at the state level.

The full resolutions can be found at https://oklahoma.gov/tset/about-us/board-of-directors/resolutions.html.

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The Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust (TSET) serves as a partner and bridge builder for organizations shaping a healthier future for all Oklahomans. TSET provides leadership at the intersections of health by working with local coalitions and initiatives across the state, cultivating innovative and life-changing research and working across public and private sectors to develop, support, implement and evaluate creative strategies to take advantage of emerging opportunities to improve the public’s health. TSET – Better Lives Through Better Health. To learn more, go to oklahoma.gov/tset.