California: Flavor Ban Postponed Following Tobacco Industry Appeal

The bill SB 793, voted on August 28, 2020, planned to ban the sale of flavored tobacco and nicotine products from August 1^er January 2021 in California. Following pressure from the tobacco industry, which deployed significant lobbying resources to block its introduction, the law was postponed until the midterm elections in 2022.

Californians will decide whether the state should ban the sale of flavored tobacco products, such as menthol cigarettes and flavored vaping products, in the 2022 midterm elections.[1]The Secretary of State's office announced Friday, January 22, that the tobacco industry's petition had successfully obtained enough signatures to put the issue on the ballot.

The signature-gathering operation was orchestrated by the California Coalition for Fairness, a group funded largely by tobacco giants, including RJ Reynolds Tobacco Co., Philip Morris USA and its U.S. subsidiary Smokeless Tobacco Co.[2]The two manufacturers invested $21.2 million to quickly collect the necessary signatures ($10.4 million from RJ Reynolds Tobacco Co. and $9.8 million from Philip Morris USA). A profitable investment for the cigarette companies because the two-year deadline thus obtained for the manufacturers represents $1.1 billion in revenue corresponding to sales of menthol-based products.

Industry's contentious arguments for delaying ban

The industry-led group argued that the ban would hurt the millions of adults who choose to use the products. But while tobacco companies claim to be responding to adult tobacco users’ demand for variety, flavored tobacco products play a key role in initiating smoking—mostly among young people under 18—they are known to lead to further addiction. According to the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, 83% of e-cigarette users under 18 use flavored products.[3].

The California Coalition for Fairness added that the ban would disproportionately criminalize African-American smokers because they tend to smoke menthol products more than other smokers. This preference is actually the result of decades of aggressive, targeted marketing by the tobacco industry. This marketing has included increased advertising in predominantly black neighborhoods and in magazines and journals popular with African-Americans. Similarly, cultural events such as jazz and hip-hop festivals are heavily sponsored by the tobacco industry. These strategies have paid off, with more than 80% of African-American smokers now smoking menthol cigarettes, compared to only 38% of other populations. This contributes to the widening health inequities between white and African-American communities. African Americans have the highest rates of tobacco-related cancers of any racial and ethnic group, and are more likely to die from smoking-attributable diseases.[4].

Keywords: California, Menthol, Flavors, Interference, Lobby

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[1] Rachel Sandler, California's Flavored Tobacco Will Be Decided By Voters After Push From Tobacco Industry, Forbes, January 22, 2021, accessed January 26, 2021 [2] Tobacco Free Generation, California: Tobacco industry tries to block ban on flavored product sales, November 25, 2020, accessed January 26, 2021 [3] Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, Ending the sale of flavored products, updated January 4, 2021, accessed January 26, 2021 [4] Truth Initiative, Why tobacco is a racial justice issue, August 3, 2020, accessed January 26, 2021 National Committee Against Smoking |