A buffet of kid-friendly tobacco flavors like watermelon, citrus, and bubblegum are being targeted by Los Angeles County.

On Wednesday, Los Angeles County council members voted 12 to 0 to pass new rules which will ban businesses from selling tobacco products that come in certain flavors.

“We have a duty to protect our youngest and most vulnerable residents against the lifelong, deadly impacts of tobacco in this city,” Councilman Mitch O’Farrell said, according to Los Angeles Times.

The new rules will go to Mayor Eric Garcetti for signature and are scheduled to go into effect next January.

Related: Teen vaping is the other epidemic during the coronavirus era: What parents need to know

O’Farrell proposed the ban at City Hall three years ago in November 2018. At the time, the motion highlighted FDA research, which found that 2 million American high school students were users of e-cigarettes.

“There is strong evidence that supports the finding that youth and adults are particularly vulnerable to sweet flavors and menthol, and are largely driving this increased uptake and sustained use of flavored tobacco products,” the 2018 motion stated.

The motion further emphasized FDA research findings which underlined how tobacco manufacturers had used flavors and menthol tobacco products to appeal to youth and young adults.

The new rules exempt the sale of shisha tobacco at hookah lounges. Advocates argued that the molasses-based tobacco ought to be protected from the legislation as it is part of long-held practices of Arab, Armenian, and other Southeast Asian and Middle Eastern communities.

Menthol is, however, included in the ban. According to the Los Angeles Times, council members were compelled to include menthol products in the ban due to their harmful impact on the Black community of Los Angeles, who are disproportionately targeted by tobacco companies.

“We believe people should be free to utilize products that they choose, however, it is also well documented that the tobacco industry targeted the Black community for more than 50 years to increase the use of tobacco products,” the NCAAP wrote in April. “Flavoring tobacco with menthol has been and remains an effective tool in our community.”

In April, the Food and Drug Administration announced its intentions to propose menthol and flavored cigarette bans on a national level. In a news release about the effort, the agency stated, “These actions have the potential to significantly reduce disease and death from combusted tobacco product use, the leading cause of preventable death in the U.S., by reducing youth experimentation and addiction and increasing the number of smokers that quit.”

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