San Jose bans smoking in apartments and sale of e-cigarette flavors

September 30, 2021

Par: National Committee Against Smoking

Dernière mise à jour: September 30, 2021

Temps de lecture: 5 minutes

The city of San Jose resisted pressure from the tobacco industry and retailers by issuing the bans on Tuesday, September 28. It anticipates the ban on the sale of e-cigarette flavors, which has been postponed by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

"We are doing this to defend young people. Make no mistake about it.", said a San Jose city councilwoman in a public presentation of the proposed ban on the sale of flavored e-cigarette products that was to be adopted by the city on September 28.[1]A second decree, voted on the same day, was also to prohibit smoking in collective housing.

Bill passed despite pressure

With an estimated population of one million, the city of San Jose, which includes Silicon Valley, is the third-largest city in California and the tenth-largest in the United States. The governor of California had passed a similar bill in 2020 to ban the sale of flavored vaping products, but it was delayed until 2022 following a referendum organized by the tobacco industry.

The proposed ban on the sale of flavored vaping products itself was lobbied in June 2021 by at least four tobacco industry lobbyists on San Jose city officials to have it postponed.[2]The main argument put forward is the harm this new legislation will cause to tobacco retailers, which includes a multitude of small businesses already severely weakened by the health crisis. The municipality, although concerned about its traders, has nevertheless chosen public health and maintained its project as is. "Although this industry is dying, it remains very powerful", lamented Sam Liccardo, the mayor of San Jose.

The other part of the proposed ban concerns collective housing with more than three dwellings, where it will now be forbidden to smoke – tobacco or cannabis, legalized since January 2018 – and to vape.[3]. Hotels, motels and other residences, however, benefit from exceptions. A measure applauded by 69% of the city's residents, during a consultation in October 2020. This project stands out from other similar ones, where the smoking ban is only valid for the common areas of the buildings.

Two Senators Challenge FDA Over E-Cigarette Flavors

The order banning the sale of flavored vape products in San Jose comes at a time when the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) itself is being called into question. The agency, which was asked to rule on the issue of flavors, finally banned menthol in cigarettes on April 29, 2021, following a lawsuit filed in June 2020 by two organizations[4]On August 26, 2021, it announced a ban on the marketing of more than 55,000 flavored e-cigarette products, but did not rule on pre-filled e-cigarettes from major international firms, which make up the bulk of sales on the US market.[5].

It is to fill this last gap that two senators, one Democrat, the other Republican, both members of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, contacted the FDA by letter on September 24, 2021.[6]. One of these senators is Mitt Romney, Barack Obama's opponent in the 2012 presidential elections. The two elected officials regretted the deadlines granted to tobacco multinationals for the implementation of health measures supposed to protect young people and ethnic minorities, two of the main targets of the manufacturers. They both pointed out the FDA's inadequacies in establishing the health consequences of these products flavored with fruit, mint or candy tastes, and called on the agency to meet the deadlines announced more than a year ago. Among the questions facing the FDA was the modalities of monitoring the application of the law, to ensure that it would not be diverted by manufacturers via other distribution channels.

Keywords: e-cigarettes, flavors, homes, smoking, tobacco industry, FDA