HARRISONBURG, Va. — Attention smokers with a fondness for flavor: your Djarum Blacks cigarettes, vanilla cigarettes and packs of Splash are on the out. On Sept. 22, the Food and Drug Administration issued a ban on flavored cigarettes, including clove, candy or fruit flavors. The FDA is also considering a ban on menthol cigarettes and other flavored tobacco products.
The FDA said flavored cigarettes are a “gateway” for children and teenagers to become regular smokers, and almost 90 percent of adult smokers start smoking as teenagers. The average age of a new smoker is 13.
Studies cited by the FDA have shown that 17-year-old smokers are three times as likely to use flavored cigarettes as smokers over the age of 25.
Mike Lynn, an employee at Harrisonburg’s B&B Tobacco, said he’s noticed this trend.
“Generally a younger population — females and a majority of college students — smoke flavored cigarettes,” Lynn said.
Lynn understood and agreed with the purpose of protecting children from harmful substances, but is wary of the new taxes, regulations and what lies ahead for the tobacco industry and himself.
“Twenty years from now, there will be no tobacco industry,” Lynn said. “A lot of people will be unemployed. We built this country on tobacco, and now we’re trying to kill this country on tobacco.”
This is the FDA’s first major crackdown on cigarettes since it was given the authority to regulate tobacco products as part of the new Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act (FSPTCA). Signed into law by President Barack Obama on June 22, the act gives the FDA power to control marketing and endorsement of tobacco products.
“As of today, manufacturers should no longer make, distributors should no longer distribute, importers should no longer import, and retailers should no longer sell these products,” said Lawrence R. Deyton,  director of the FDA Center for Tobacco Products, in the Sept. 22 press release.
Lynn said the ban decreased sales at B&B Tobacco, since it is one of only a few places that sell Djarum Black flavored cigarettes in Harrisonburg, but did not hurt the company as much as it hurt the niche market to which flavored cigarettes cater.
Freshman Josh Mukki, an ISAT major, said he’s already seen the effects of the new law on campus.
“One of my friends recently bought three cartons of cloves before they went illegal,” Mukki said.
B&B Tobacco stopped carrying flavored tobacco eight months ago due to a previous tax increase on the products, but recently started selling Djarum Blacks again after Kretek International Inc. filed a lawsuit against the FDA in an effort to prevent the ban. Kretek imports Djarum tobacco products from Indonesia and sued the FDA on Sept. 22 over claims of losing money.
This ban is the first of many anti-tobacco actions the FDA will pursue. According to the Web site, in January 2010 the FDA will require manufacturers to submit information about ingredients and additives in tobacco products. By April, there will be a ban on the use of tobacco-company logos at sports or entertainment events.
Labels could change by July 2010, as well. The terms “light,” “low” and “mild” will be banned and the FDA said it will strengthen warning labels on cigarettes and smokeless tobacco products.