California Assembly Approves Flavored Tobacco Ban
The House still needs to approve amendments added by the state Senate.
Aug 26, 2020 | 2 min read
SACRAMENTO—This week, the California Assembly passed a bill prohibiting the sale of flavored tobacco products, the Los Angeles Times reports. The state Senate, which had previously approved the measure, added amendments exempting premium cigars, some pipe tobacco and hookah products. The House needs to approve those amendments before the bill can become state law.
While the Assembly passage was unanimous, Republican legislators had withheld their votes over concerns that the legislation would eliminate tax revenue amid already-declining tobacco sales. Business groups opposed the ban, including the California Retailers Association and the California Fuels and Convenience Alliance.
The alliance testified during a committee hearing that the bill would hurt small businesses struggling during COVID-19. Such stores “will face significant economic hardship if you move forward with this proposal,” said Jacque Ayers, a manager at Winchester Fuels.
The alliance also noted that convenience stores already keep tobacco products out of the hands of minors. C-stores have a “95% success rate in keeping the product out of the hands of minors,” said James Allison, alliance spokesperson, in an Associated Press story. It’s unfair for these stores to absorb more losses, he said, pointing out that retailers located in areas with local flavored tobacco bans have experienced up to a 40% dip in income as a result. “Small businesses, hundreds if not thousands of them, will immediately feel the impact of this bill,” he said.
If signed into law by the governor, California would join New York and Massachusetts in banning the sale of flavored tobacco products.
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