Oregon Appeals Court Upholds Washington County Law Banning Flavored Tobacco Sales

The Oregon Court of Appeals upheld this Wednesday, 1^er May a Washington County ordinance banning the sale of flavored tobacco and nicotine products, saying the ban did not challenge state prerogatives. The decision could set a precedent.

The appeals court overturned a 2022 ruling by Washington County Circuit Judge Andrew Erwin that said the county had the authority to regulate how products are sold, but only the state had the power to ban products entirely.[1].

Local restrictions increasingly numerous in the United States

Local public health agencies in the United States—that is, cities or counties—have had the power to regulate tobacco and nicotine products since 2021. In 2022, Washington County passed Oregon’s first ordinance banning the sale of flavored tobacco products. The measure quickly drew opposition from tobacco retailers, who made it a campaign issue in May 2022. An overwhelming majority of Washington County residents voted in favor of the ban.

The tobacco retailers then took the case to court, where Judge Erwin ruled that the restriction on flavored tobacco products was not within the control of local authorities and therefore could not be enforced. The Court of Appeals overturned that decision. The tobacco industry has been particularly supportive of state-authorized local laws to overturn more restrictive local tobacco control laws. The industry's goal in these lawsuits is also to prevent such laws from being passed in the future.

In adopting the ordinance, Washington County joined nearly 350 localities nationwide that have banned flavors for tobacco and vaping products in an effort to protect youth.

A similar effort has been made in Multnomah County. Local health officials in Multnomah passed their own ban on flavored nicotine products in 2022. That ban was supposed to go into effect this year, but tobacco retailers sued the county, arguing the ban was illegal. A district court judge dismissed the lawsuit.

Separate from the Washington County ban, the Multnomah County ban then went to the Oregon Court of Appeals, which granted the tobacco retailers a temporary reprieve in December. The stay was extended in February and, according to the court, will remain in effect while the case is pending. Jamie Dunphy, an advocacy manager with the American Cancer Society’s Cancer Action Network in Oregon who has followed the cases closely, said: "The Washington County decision will expedite the appeals court's decision in the Multnomah County case, which is expected to be similar."

In addition to flavor bans, some localities in Massachusetts have banned the sale of tobacco and nicotine products to people born after a certain date. Other localities in California have banned the sale of these products.[2]The regulations have also been fiercely contested by the tobacco industry, which has filed appeals in local courts that have ruled in favor of the cities.

©Generation Without Tobacco

AE