business motivation

Following a national trend of proposed bans on menthol or flavored tobacco products, the Kansas City Council postponed a vote Thursday afternoon to disallow local businesses from selling such products as of Jan. 1, 2025.This ordinance and the debate surrounding it will be discussed and voted on in the Council Subcommittee in two weeks.Five city council members sponsored the ordinance that prohibits “the sale of flavored tobacco, nicotine, and vapor products within the city.” The Council began its effort to ban menthol cigarettes only over a year ago, which proved unsuccessful and was voted down at that time. Today’s vote to ban came as a shock to local business owners.”We’re going to lose 25 to 35% of sales,” said FavTrip gas station owner Babir Sultan. “We don’t sell lottery or liquor. My livelihood depends on this business.” He pointed to a glass case full of rows of vaping products with flavors like Tropical, Ice, and Juicy Peach. “This will be empty,” he said. Sultan owns four FavTrip stores three in Kansas City and one in Grandview. He said he was attending the National Convention of Convenience Store Owners in Las Vegas on Wednesday and rushed home to attend the council meeting.If the ban is approved, he says he will move all banned products from his Kansas City stores just three miles south to his Grandview store, where they will be legal to sell. He understands the need to prioritize public health, but he says this ordinance lacks common sense.”We lose all that tax revenue. What’s to stop someone from buying menthols from Independence, Grandview, or Lee’s Summit and selling them on the street? The Council is making choices for adults,” he said. The Council collects a cigarette tax stamp that brings in about $1.6 million a year. With this proposed ban, that revenue will be lost, but the Council says data backs up its decision to ban flavored products. It cites a recent study showing that 85% of Black smokers prefer menthol cigarettes, which carry a minty flavor. A Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health study shows that with a ban on menthol cigarettes, 24% of daily menthol smokers quit smoking entirely, compared to non-menthol smokers.More than 170 U.S. cities have already banned menthol or other flavored tobacco products.