Denver voters on Tuesday retained a controversial ban on the sale of flavored tobacco products inside city limits.
As of midnight, 71.5% of voters upholding the ban.
Supporters of the ban celebrated the results and said the decision will protect children from nicotine addiction, lower smoking rates and promote public health.
“With four out of five kids who use tobacco starting with a flavored product, this result is critical to preventing kids from accessing candy-flavored nicotine,” Jodi Radke, regional director of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, said in a news release.
Opponents of the ban conceded the race Tuesday night and said in a news release that the voters' decision will decrease city tax revenue and force approximately 100 small vape businesses to close. The ban will also restrict adults from buying legal substances and increase youth cigarette smoking, which they said is more harmful than vaping.
The City Council in December outlawed the sale of most flavored tobacco and nicotine products, from flavored vapes to menthol cigarettes, in an 11-1 vote. But opponents of the decision gathered enough signatures to put the question to a citywide vote and placed Referendum 310 on the ballot. The retention question is worded so that "yes" is a vote to keep the ban and "no" is a vote to repeal it.
Proponents of the ban -- which has not been enforced yet -- said flavored nicotine products are marketed to young people and can lure them to nicotine addiction. Banning products like strawberry mango e-cigarettes and "rainbow candy"-flavored cartridges is a public health measure to protect the next generation, they said.
The ban faced opposition from local tobacco shops as well as the broader tobacco industry. Opponents said the ban would hurt small businesses in Denver, and would-be customers still would be able to buy flavored tobacco products in neighboring municipalities. Others said the ban would create a black market for the substances.
The council ordinance made it illegal to “sell, offer for sale, give, barter, deliver or furnish” flavored tobacco products in Denver. That applied to e-cigarettes, tobacco vape pens and other products that provide “a cooling” or a “numbing sensation, taste or smell other than the taste or smell of tobacco.” That includes smells or tastes similar to fruits, mint, menthol, chocolates or other candies, desserts, herbs, spices or alcoholic drinks.
The ban also applied to menthol cigarettes, but did not apply to hookah tobacco.
Businesses that violate the ban will first get a warning and, if a second offense occurs, a 30-day ban on selling all tobacco products. Further violations will result in longer bans.
The city plans to begin enforcing the ban in January.
The referendum drew nearly $6.5 million in campaign contributions -- the vast majority in support of the ban. Through Monday, proponents of the ban reported raising $5.8 million, nearly $5 million of which came from billionaire Michael Bloomberg. Opponents have raised about $646,000, .
