California Assembly Approves Ban on Flavored Tobacco Sales

The California Assembly on Monday approved a retail ban on flavored tobacco products in the state, with supporters saying there was a need to reduce smoking and vaping among minors and others drawn to it. flavors such as fruit and menthol.

Supporters of the legislation have blasted a new advertising campaign by tobacco companies that claims the bill discriminates against black and Latino smokers, saying the ads dishonestly portray the industry as an ally of communities of color.

the tobacco industry advertising, who calls the bill “political at its worst”, argues that the measure would criminalize menthol cigarettes, “giving special treatment to the rich and designating communities of color.”

MP Shirley Weber (D-San Diego), chair of the California Black Legislative Caucus, said it was racist for the tobacco industry to claim the bill discriminates against blacks by banning the sale of menthol cigarettes in the state.

“I am insulted that the tobacco industry is making an effort to make us believe that menthol cigarettes are part of African American culture, and that this is a discriminatory law against blacks,” Weber said. during the indoor debate.

The Senate had previously approved the measure, but it is due to return to this house for the expected approval of amendments that exempt hookah products, premium cigars and some pipe tobacco.

“It is the deadliest consumer product ever created,” MP Jim Wood (D-Healdsburg) said during Monday’s short debate. “In a perfect world, there would be no exemptions to this bill, but we all know we don’t live in a perfect world.

The Assembly vote was 50-0, with Republican lawmakers withholding their votes and fearing it would take desperately needed tax revenue as tobacco sales decline and several exemptions were approved to win a vote in the majority.

Assembly member Heath Flora (R-Ripon) said the bill would be ineffective if it did not cover hookah products, cigars and cannabis.

“If we really cared about children, we would be dealing with some of the other industries as well,” said Flora.

The bill’s author, State Senator Jerry Hill (D-San Mateo), said he reluctantly accepted amendments to the legislation that never went beyond the committee level in the Assembly the previous years. He said his measure was aimed at tackling the increase in tobacco use among young people by banning the in-store sale of flavored products, including cigarettes, many cigars and chewing tobacco, as well as electronic cigarettes and flavored vaping products.

Hill argued that a ban on flavored tobacco – including candy and fruit flavored e-cigarettes – is key to dealing with an upsurge in vaping and other underage tobacco use.

A 2018 study by the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that 67% of high school students and 49% of middle school students who had used tobacco products in the previous 30 days reported using a product. flavored tobacco during this time, Hill noted. .

Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon (D-Lakewood) said there was a reason tobacco products are sold with flavors such as menthol, cotton candy and gummy bears.

“These flavors are marketed to children and people of color to make sure tobacco companies have a lifelong customer base,” Rendon said.

If the measure is signed by the governor, California would become the second state to ban the sale of flavored tobacco.

In the days leading up to the vote, the tobacco industry had aired television ads saying SB 793 was designating communities of color because it banned menthol.

Supporters of the bill have called the claims inaccurate, responding with another ad claiming that flavored tobacco products have been marketed widely to communities of color and pose disproportionate health risks to black residents.

On Monday, a group of black leaders, including academics and young activists, held a press conference on Zoom to denounce the opposition ad campaign as an attempt by the tobacco industry to deceive lawmakers and the public.

“It is essential that the black community and in particular the black faith community resist the lies, disinformation and false news that are promulgated by the big tobacco,” said Reverend John E. Cager III, pastor of Ward African Methodist Episcopal. Church of Los Angeles.

In a recent committee hearing, the bill was opposed by Reverend KW Tulloss, president of the Los Angeles and Southern California Baptist Ministers’ Conference.

He said he did not want children to smoke, but opposes the bill because of its ban on menthol products, which he says are popular with black smokers, while by exempting other flavored tobaccos, including hookah and high-end cigars.

“What we are seeing here is that this bill does not respect our community of color and their preferences, while it exempts hookah products on behalf of Middle Eastern cultures,” Tulloss said. “If you ban menthol, it will criminalize this product.”

In arguing against the bill, Tulloss cited the case of Eric Garner, a black man who died in New York City custody in 2014 after being arrested for allegedly selling individual cigarettes on the streets.

On Monday, assembled Rob Bonta (D-Alameda) challenged some opponents’ claim that banning flavored tobacco sales would create more confrontations between police and black and Latino residents. Bonta noted that the bill prohibits retail stores from selling the products, not owning or using flavored tobacco.

Supporters of the bill recently began airing their own television commercial, in which creative spoken word artist SixFootah the poet says that “menthol cigarettes put my mother in the ground”, challenging lawmakers to provide black children “the same protection as the children of the suburbs. . “

“So you want to ban all flavors except those that take the lives of blacks?” she asks in the ad.

The legislation is supported by the American Lung Assn. in California, American Heart Assn. and American Cancer Society.

The bill has been opposed by business groups including the California Chamber of Commerce, the California Retailers Assn. and the California Fuels and Convenience Alliance, which represents some 12,000 convenience stores.

A representative for the alliance testified at a recent committee hearing about how it would hurt small businesses struggling to recover during the COVID-19 pandemic and deprive the state of necessary tax revenue.

These companies “will face significant economic difficulties if you go ahead with this proposal,” said Jacque Ayers, manager at Winchester Fuels, a market and gas station in Temecula.