Flavour ban? Chicago can’t enforce the regulations it already has

Chicago lawmakers meet later today to discuss proposals to ban flavoured e-liquids – but the city already has trouble enforcing existing bans, such as one on the sale of menthol conventional cigarettes within 500ft of a high school.

Researchers from Johns Hopkins University assessed the compliance of retailers in the year after the ban was enacted. Their study, “Compliance with the City of Chicago’s partial ban on menthol cigarette sales”, focused on 90 stores.

They found a compliance rate of 57%, with gas stations 81% less likely to observe the ban than large retailers or chain stores.