At its August 8 meeting, the Bangor City Council voted 6 to 1 to ban the sale of flavored tobacco and nicotine products.
The ordinance, which will go into effect on January 1, 2023, bans the sale, display, marketing, and advertising of flavored tobacco products and imposes a fine between $50 and $100 for a first-time violation in a 24 month period. Subsequent offenses within that period will result in a fine between $300 and $1,000.
Bangor had previously passed a flavored tobacco ban, but the city council had to repeal it in May 2022 because it did not provide proper notice to businesses impacted by the ordinance.
With the new ordinance, Bangor is set to be the third city in Maine to ban the sale of flavored tobacco products.
In Portland, city councilors unanimously approved a ban on flavored tobacco in early February. City councilors in Brunswick passed a similar measure in April. Bans in both cities went into effect in June.