Tempe Delays Action on Proposed Flavored Nicotine Ban

Tempe is dawdling over a decision about a ban on flavored tobacco products in the city.

Tempe is on a months-long campaign to become the first Arizona city to criminalize flavored nicotine products. Yet the effort has stalled again after members of the public and news reports highlighted problems with the ordinance in December.

At a Tempe City Council meeting on December 8, council members urged dozens of people who intended to speak out against the ban to defer with the promise of a public hearing on January 12. Yet that hearing didn’t make it on the agenda for the session last week.

Later in December, city officials noted a potential meeting about the issue on February 23. This week, a city spokesperson declined to say if people who waived their speaking time at the December meeting will have the chance to speak before any City Council vote on the proposal.

“Right now, we are holding off on setting any firm date as we collect more public and stakeholder feedback and explore possible changes to the draft ordinance based on that feedback,” city spokesperson Savannah Harrelson said. “We will announce a firmed-up council date as soon as we have one, but staff is focusing on getting more info and feedback as a priority.”

Since raising the idea of a comprehensive ban in the city, the proposal has come under fire for a host of problems: conflating the vape and tobacco industries, factual errors, its impact on Arab business owners and hookah users, unintended consequences such as fueling a black market, and holes large enough to fit even the biggest hookahs through.

Among problems with the proposed ban are factual inaccuracies. The proposal asserts that “the use of electronic cigarettes by minors and young adults has been rising in recent years.” Yet data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that youth nicotine use plummeted by more than 50 percent in the last three years. Youth smoking is at its lowest rate in recorded history, according to the CDC.

Ramsey Abdelhak, who owns Alibaba Hookah Lounge & Cafe near University Drive and Rural Road, said he and other business owners just want to be “put out of our misery” after more than a year of waiting. Abdelhak gave up his speaking time at the December meeting with the promise of a new hearing on January 12 that never happened, he said.

“I don’t think they heard everybody’s thoughts,” he said. “Many of us haven’t had our voices heard yet.”

For Abdelhak, an immigrant from North Africa, hookah has been the family business for generations. He fears losing his livelihood and an important piece of his culture, he said.

“I am so worried,” he said. “Every day, I come to my business thinking, ‘Are they going to ban it today? Are they going to ban it tomorrow?’”

The city wants to keep flavored nicotine out of the hands of children. According to the Tempe Flavors Coalition, a group that supports the ban, half of the 152 tobacco retailers in Tempe have been cited for violating sales regulations since 2015. Most citations dealt with selling to underage people, according to the group.

But the broad proposed ban could also impact adults trying to quit smoking. A peer-reviewed study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association in 2020 found that adults who use flavored nicotine products were nearly three times more likely to quit smoking cigarettes than those using unflavored vapes.

Abdelhak, before he spoke with New Times, was scanning the ID cards of customers who walked into the cafe. His business hasn’t been cited for violating sales regulations.

“Hell no, I would never sell to someone under 21,” he said. “At this shop, we are very strict.”

Like other opponents of the ban, Abdelhak supports further restrictions and amping up punishments for retailers who sell tobacco products to children. Above all, he wants action from the city — for better or worse.

“It’s been long enough,” he said. “It’s time to make up a decision.”