A San Francisco law banning flavored tobacco and nicotine products has drawn a vigorous response from none other than the maker of Newport, the nation’s most popular menthol cigarettes. Hence Proposition E, a June ballot referendum asking San Franciscans to uphold or reject the Board of Supervisors’ ban.

R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. has shrewdly allowed local shop owners to serve as the sympathetic face of the campaign, arguing that local pols looking to beat up on Big Tobacco are actually putting mom and pop out of business. But most of the targeted products serve mainly to increase the appeal, particularly among young people and minorities, of a highly addictive substance delivered in a dangerous way.

San Francisco is ahead of this trend, but not by much. Santa Clara County and Oakland have passed similar laws, and the Food and Drug Administration — which already prohibits cigarette flavors other than menthol — is also considering a broader ban on flavored tobacco and nicotine. Menthol cigarettes are the most popular and deserving target of the expanded bans, but they also encompass flavored cigars, smokeless tobacco and vaping.

Vaping is the most dubious facet of the crackdown. As FDA Commissioner Stephen Gottlieb has noted, vaping products that are flavored, as most are, pose a risk in that they appeal to young people, but they also provide a harm-reducing, non-tobacco alternative for adult smokers. That’s why the federal agency is collecting research on the issue — and why local officials and laws should recognize the difference between tobacco and vaping.

The primary impact of the ban, however, would be on products that are deadly and addictive. The Chronicle therefore recommends voting yes on Proposition E to uphold the ban.

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