On this past Saturday, I do what I do many Saturdays. I go to Milano’s in downtown Springfield and buy a couple of sandwiches for my wife and me and then I walk into Buckeye Brothers and buy a Powerball ticket.

My friend David Glantz, the fine proprietor of that shop, told me in no uncertain terms how upset he was with a proposed ban of all flavored tobacco products: cigarettes, cigars, snuff and chewing tobacco.

Since out conversation the Seante has passed the bill.

This ban would go hand-in-hand with the Commonwealth’s ban on vaping supplies.

This ban would include menthol cigarettes, which have been on the market for decades.

Why in the name of all that is holy is the Commonwealth of Massachusetts considering banning menthol cigarettes?

Well, apparently the idea of getting rid of menthol cigarettes and cheap flavored cigars – who actually smokes a grape flavored cigar? – is all part of an effort to help prevent teens from developing bad habits that could lead to health problems.

I get it. You’re supposed to experiment with tobacco, alcohol and cannabis when you’re in your rebellion period. The Commonwealth doesn’t want teen activity to develop into habits that can affect a person’s health as an adult.

Let me ask you: when have bans of tobacco, cannabis and alcohol really worked? I’m not talking about restricting sales to adults. I’m not speaking about education efforts to allow teens to decide that using these substances are not the best choices.

I’m talking about a general prohibition.

It didn’t work with alcohol for the first 30 years of the last century. It didn’t work for cannabis.

Why would any legislator believe it would work for flavored tobacco?

 People will just go across a border, buy a ton of the stuff and then sell it back here.

Here’s a word: “fireworks.” How has that long-time ban worked for us?

The New England Convenience Store & Energy Marketers Association (NECSEMA) sent out two letters about the ban, as reported by the State House New Service. Here is an excerpt from one about illegal tobacco sales, “Despite these notable successes, the illegal tobacco market in Massachusetts continues to operate, which serves to deprive the Commonwealth of millions of dollars of revenue in the form of tobacco excise taxes lost to the illegal market. It has become abundantly clear that the problem of illegal tobacco smuggling is widespread and requires meaningful Legislative and policy action at the state level to effectively control and ultimately defeat it. This will require a combination of changes in state regulatory oversight of tobacco products and substantial revisions to the state’s existing statutory framework governing tobacco products to give law enforcement officials additional tools to identify and punish current offenders and to ultimately deter future putative offenders.”

A ban would only increase illegal sales and would have an impact on tax revenues. Colin A. Young of the State House News Service reported, “The organization [NECSEMA] said that the excise and sales taxes on menthol cigarettes and mint/wintergreen/menthol smokeless tobacco total about $228.45 million annually. The Department of Revenue previously said it estimates menthol and mint flavored tobacco alone will generate $135 million to $160 million in excise tax revenue this budget year.”

My friend Dave said that if flavored tobacco products are banned because the flavoring is enticing to teens, then flavored alcohol products should also be taken off the shelves. Candy cotton vodka? Gone. Wine coolers? Gone. Apple-flavored Jack Daniels? Gone. Mike’s Hard Lemonade? Gone. Twisted Tea? Gone.

Are you ready to enforce a ban on all of those products and more? And lose the tax revenue from them?

No one wants any child to be in danger of developing a bad habit that would affect his or her health. If you want to protect kids, then make sure they get an education about the harm of such substances and talk to them about alcohol, tobacco and cannabis.

Pay attention to them. Try to understand what they are doing. Answer their questions. These steps may mean more work for you as an adult in a young person’s life, but my guess they will be more effective

And retailers need to enforce existing laws, as well.