Gavin Newsom signs ban on sales of flavored tobacco products in California stores

Hours after it cleared the California Senate on Friday, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill banning the sale of most flavored tobacco products.

The law, beginning Jan. 1, will penalize retailers who sell flavored tobacco products such as menthol cigarettes or fruit-flavored cigarillos by fining them $250 for each violation.

Under California’s definition of a tobacco product, the ban will also apply to flavored vape juice. Some products, like hookah, pipe tobacco, and cigars worth more than $12, are exempt from the ban.

The bill received heavy opposition during the legislative session, including from the tobacco industry, but proponents say it will protect young people from becoming addicted to tobacco products and improve public health.

At a press conference Friday before signing the legislation, Newsom said he has long been an advocate for such a ban.

“This tobacco industry continues to find ways to target our youth,” he said. “It will be a point of deep pride and personal privilege as a father of four and as someone who has had many family members die at the hands of the tobacco industry to sign that bill.”

The bill by Sen. Jerry Hill, D-San Mateo, was endorsed by several medical organizations, including the American Cancer Society, Cancer Action Network California and the American Heart Association.

“Our state Legislature wants to protect the health and well-being of our kids and our communities throughout California,” Hill said in a statement. “With the ‘yes’ votes on Monday in the Assembly and today in the Senate, we resoundingly told Big Tobacco, ‘No, we don’t want your candy-, fruit-, mint- and menthol-flavored poison sold in our stores.’”

The bill passed through the California Assembly earlier this week, with a vote of 50-0, and 30 members abstaining. Opponents argued the bill will result in the state losing hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue from tobacco taxes, and that its exemptions neglected products favored by some minority communities.

Assemblyman Heath Flora, R-Ripon, spoke against the bill earlier this week, criticizing it as hypocritical for not going after flavored cannabis products.

“Our kids are smoking cannabis, inhaling it, all day long. But because it’s the new cool kid on the block we leave it alone and we go after tobacco,” said Flora, who abstained from voting.

In the Senate, the bill received bipartisan support, passing 34-0 with six senators abstaining.

This story was originally published August 28, 2020 at 5:18 PM with the headline "Gavin Newsom signs ban on sales of flavored tobacco products in California stores."