ASHLAND - The Board of Health is scheduled to vote Tuesday on whether to prohibit Ashland retailers from selling menthol, mint and wintergreen flavored combustible cigarettes and e-cigarettes.

Concerned with minors getting their hands on the products, the board has discussed the potential ban for months, according to Chairman Jon Fetherston.

“Juuling and vaping are the board’s biggest concern,” he said.

As opposed to traditional smoking, e-cigarettes, also known as vapes, are marketed as safer alternatives that could help someone quit smoking. Juuls, developed by Juul Labs, are a specific brand of e-cigarette, that, according to American Academy of Family Physicians, have more than double the amount of nicotine than many other e-cigarettes on the market.

Although e-cigarettes are in fact safer than traditional cigarettes, they are often promoted to teens and young adults who were not smokers.

In a letter read by the board during its Jan. 15 meeting, Ashland Superintendent James Adams echoed the board’s sentiment about the products.

“In a rare Advisory in December 2018, the Surgeon General specifically urged local and state governments to act assertively to protect their youth,” he said. “Both he and the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) Commissioner, Dr. Scott Gottlieb, have recently called the use of JUULS and other e-cigs/vapes an ‘epidemic’ among youth. We need you to protect Ashland’s youth from this new epidemic at tonight’s hearing and in the future. It’s that simple.”

Speaking at that same meeting, both Ashland students and store owners shared their thoughts on the proposed ban - the parties that will be most affected by the ban, Fetherston said.

“We have to weigh the youth and the young adults in our community versus the percentage of business for our retailers,” he said.

Ashland High School senior Neha Shabeer said she has witnessed her fellow students display symptoms characteristic of an addict.

“I’ve seen my peers jittering in class due to nicotine cravings. I have seen their grades suffering because they miss class time to vape in the bathroom during every single classroom,” she said. “It is the Board of Health’s duty to implement policies that protect citizens from dangerous public health hazards and epidemics, which is what this is.”

William Goldberg, owner of Main Street Wine & Spirits, said while he agrees that smoking is a harmful habit, he’s business would be greatly affected by the ban.

“Currently, menthol cigarettes comprise 20 percent of my total cigarette sales,” he said. “If a ban were enacted, the immediate effect would mean that I directly lose those sales. ... Enacting this regulation will hurt Ashland businesses and send a clear message to others that the town of Ashland is not a business-friendly town,” he said.

Should the measure pass, retailers will a three to six month window before the ban goes into effect, Fetherston said.

Cesareo Contreras can be reached at 508-626-7511 or ccontreras@wickedlocal.com. Follow him on Twitter @Cesareo_R.