We might permanently block any user who abuses these conditions. L.A. County is testing to see if a more contagious coronavirus strain is in the community. The high cost of qualifying the referendum and delaying the law for nearly two years would be eclipsed by the profits the industry would make selling flavored tobacco products in the meantime, supporters of the ban say. California Bans Menthol Cigarettes Starting January 1, the state is set to join Massachusetts in prohibiting sales of all flavored tobacco products. Jane and Raymond Wurwand commit $1 million in grants to support small businesses in Los Angeles County struggling to survive COVID-19. On United Airlines flight to LAX, he gave CPR to man dying of COVID-19. August 29, 2020 / 11:39 AM / CBS News Starting January 1, it will be illegal to sell most flavored tobacco products in California. : Dennis Prager, A needed challenge to Newsom’s one-man rule, Festivus grievances from our editorial board. When California state … SB 793, a bill making its way through the California State Legislature, is our state’s chance to finally stand up to Big Tobacco and say no to the sale of menthol cigarettes in our communities. Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window), Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window), How California’s flavored tobacco ban will hurt communities and budgets, America’s long history of White House infighting, What happened to the Golden State? But now that tobacco is unpopular enough to move forward with targeted prohibitions, unfortunately California is again implementing laws that will disproportionately and negatively impact disadvantaged communities. The new law, aimed at keeping flavored tobacco products away from youth, was cast by opponents as being discriminatory against African American smokers who favor menthol cigarettes. L.A. County hospitals running dangerously low on oxygen, supplies as ER units are overwhelmed, Clearing emergency rooms becomes vital as hospitals struggle with critical patients. House passes ban on flavored and menthol cigarettes in drive to curb youth smoking Updated Feb 28, 2020; Posted Feb 28, 2020 The U.S. House of Representatives has passed a … They estimate sales of menthol products alone will bring the industry $1.1 billion in revenue during the 22 months that California’s law would be delayed. eCollection 2020 Dec.ABSTRACTThis study measures the availability of menthol cigarettes in Oakland, California where such products were banned from the majority of tobacco retailers, except for those who sold a significant amount of tobacco (e.g., 60% gross income). We invite you to use our commenting platform to engage in insightful conversations about issues in our community. Newsom will enter quarantine again after coronavirus exposure. America’s long history of White House infighting The coalition of tobacco companies repeated their charge on Tuesday. The tobacco industry wants to overturn a law banning the retail sale of flavored tobacco products in California. The majority young people who smoke prefer regular cigarettes. There’s only one way to join this exclusive COVID-19 club. However, California should note the unintended consequences of an identical tobacco flavor ban have been destructive in Massachusetts, which is on pace to lose over $93 million in tax revenue after becoming the only other state to enforce similar restrictions. “In the midst of an unprecedented pandemic, raging wildfires, heatwaves and power outages across the state, more than one million Californians signed petitions for the right to have their voice heard on an unfair law that benefits the wealthy and special interests while costing jobs and cutting funding for education and healthcare,” the statement said. August 31, 2020 SACRAMENTO—The California legislature Friday passed a ban on the sale of menthol cigarettes following a 34-0 vote in the state Senate, the Wall Street Journal reports. You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times. To win legislative approval, the bill exempted hookah, expensive cigars and flavored pipe tobacco. The referendum was criticized Tuesday by Lindsey Freitas, advocacy director for Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, a leading supporter of the new law. Marjorie Leach, 101, is one of those men and women who are at least 100 years old and have survived COVID-19. Although federal law bans fruit- and candy-flavored cigarettes, neither federal nor California laws restrict sales of menthol cigarettes or other flavored tobacco products such as cigars, little cigars, smokeless tobacco, hookah tobacco, and electronic cigarettes. Cigarettes and e-cigarettes on display at a gas station in Newport Beach, California, in 2016. Column: The worst Christmas I ever had was the one that changed my life. What happened to Maria Bartiromo? Trump’s repeatedly discredited attempt to overturn the November results has been given continued sustenance by the Fox News star. Black markets were more than happy to traffic newly illegal flavored tobacco products from neighboring states. From 2019 to 2020, youth use of e-cigarettes has already dropped almost 30 percent and over 50 percent for high and middle school students, respectively. Menthol cigarettes have long been on policy makers' radar. In summary. Other states including New York and New Jersey have banned flavored e … Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email. A court hearing on the lawsuit is scheduled for Dec. 10. The California state legislature passed a ban on Newports and other menthol cigarettes, following a similar measure approved in Massachusetts last year. The most popular e-cigarettes flavors used by young people reflect the tobacco products used by the adults around them, which a state flavor ban will do little to address. Gavin Newsom on Friday signed a bill that bans the sale of flavored tobacco products in the state—a move that opponents of the bill said would devastate small retailers. Why is that metric important? California is the second state, following Massachusetts, to ban all tobacco flavors, including menthol. The late pop star’s Neverland Ranch in Los Olivos, near Santa Barbara, has found a new owner in billionaire businessman Ron Burkle. The largest tobacco manufacturers are suing California to prevent its broad tobacco flavor ban. California lawmakers are poised to vote on a statewide ban on flavored tobacco products, including menthol cigarettes. In fact, states with higher distribution rates of menthol relative to regular cigarettes actually have lower rates of youth smoking. The Trump election fraud story has the TV news biz asking. The signatures were submitted to the state by the California Coalition for Fairness, which said in a statement Tuesday that its signature drive showed that voters are put off by the new law. Photo by Lindsay Fox/Ecigarettereviewed.com Mayor Eric Garcetti says it appears likely. accused signature gatherers of misleading voters, Gov. It also does not apply to Internet sales of flavored products. Prev Med Rep. 2020 Sep 18;20:101200. doi: 10.1016/j.pmedr.2020.101200. Public health officials are anxiously tracking the capacity of intensive care units as coronavirus case numbers surge. And since menthol cigarettes are disproportionately popular among people of color, the ban puts disadvantaged communities at further risk of the potential violence and overpolicing that can come with illegal activity. L.A. County records 140 COVID-19 deaths in one day, a new record. What happened to the Golden State? The ban includes the sale of everything from menthol cigarettes to e-cigarette flavors, except tobacco. As they argue, the Tobacco Control Act does prevent states and local governments from setting their own tobacco product standards, but the same page of this restriction explicitly states any government can still prohibit any class of tobacco product for any age group. Meanwhile the state is preserving the legality of tobacco products mostly used by white people. SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California Gov. California retail stores would be banned from selling menthol cigarettes if legislation advanced Monday by the state Assembly is approved by the Senate and the governor. It excludes hookah and some cigars. Unfortunately for big tobacco, they don’t have much of a case. California Approves Ban on Menthol Cigarettes New law makes it second state in nation to prohibit sales of Newports and other minty smokes over protest from tobacco companies . California Supreme Court allows murder charge in stillborn fetus case. The state’s March restrictions flattened the coronavirus curve, but the latest order must tame an infection rate that is already wildly out of control. The coalition has received more than $21 million so far, largely from companies including Philip Morris USA and its affiliated U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Co., as well as R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. Cigarette use in California, and across the country, has been falling for decades. The high court declined to stop the prosecution of a woman who was charged with murder after authorities said she used methamphetamine before her fetus was stillborn. A more-or-less identical flavor ban went into effect in Los Angeles County earlier this year and when the tobacco industry attempted to challenge it in court, the case was thrown out. The coroner in Jefferson Parish, La. If you see comments that you find offensive, please use the “Flag as Inappropriate” feature by hovering over the right side of the post, and pulling down on the arrow that appears. “California will continue to fight back and protect children from Big Tobacco.”, The law Newsom signed would ban the retail sale of flavored tobacco products including menthol and fruit flavors, as well as those used in electronic cigarettes. But the delay will be costly and deadly.”. Despite Brexit, this ban also applies to the UK and includes capsule, click on, click & roll, crushball or dual menthol cigarettes, and excludes vaping and heated tobacco products. California Governor Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill (SB) 793 into law, banning the retail sale of flavored tobacco products in the state, effective … Anti-smoking groups hailed the ban, which restricts sale and consumption of flavored vaping products immediately and does the same for menthol cigarettes starting June 1, 2020. The largest tobacco manufacturers are suing California to prevent its broad tobacco flavor ban. “California will continue to fight back and protect children from Big Tobacco.” The law Newsom signed would ban the retail sale of flavored tobacco products including menthol … California must ban menthol cigarettes to protect Black lives from Big Tobacco’s greed By Karen Bass Special to The Sacramento Bee July 16, 2020 05:00 AM , In pursuing the referendum, the coalition said it agrees “that youth should never have access to any tobacco products, but this can be achieved without imposing a total prohibition on products that millions of adults choose to use.”, The referendum is one of two prongs of the tobacco industry’s attack on the new law. Patrick McGreevy is a reporter covering California state government and politics in the Sacramento Bureau. Sen. Jerry Hill (D-San Mateo), who introduced the bill, said flavored tobacco is used by the industry to attract minors to smoking and vaping. Opponents needed to collect the signatures of 623,312 registered voters to quality the referendum. The companies also filed a federal lawsuit against the state, seeking an injunction to block the new law, arguing it is “an overbroad reaction to legitimate public-health concerns about youth use of tobacco products.”. But on a scary, snowy night decades ago, the chaos of my mother’s drinking finally gave way to a real Christmas miracle. Coalition Continues to Grow in Opposition to California's Proposed Menthol Cigarette BanPR NewswireLOS ANGELES, Aug. 4, 2020"These kinds of bans and prohibitions only license the … Michael Jackson’s Neverland Ranch sold to billionaire. “SB 793 criminalizes the sale of menthol cigarettes preferred by people of color and creates special exemptions for products preferred by the wealthy — allowing the sale of expensive flavored cigars and pipe tobacco, in addition to hookah, to remain legal,” the group said in its statement. If the Secretary of State’s office determines there is a sufficient number of signatures to qualify the referendum, the new law, which was scheduled to take effect Jan. 1, would be suspended until the voters act on the ballot measure in November 2022. Additionally, the motivation for California’s “Stop Tobacco Access to Kids Enforcement” Act, is built on a false premise. The campaign over the referendum is likely to generate heated debate, following vitriol between the two sides leading up to the Legislature’s approval of the law. He is a native of San Diego and a graduate of San Jose State University. Supporters of the flavored tobacco sales ban accused signature gatherers of misleading voters by telling them the petitions were for a measure to ban sales of flavored tobacco products to minors, a charge the coalition denied. The ban is part of a measure barring the sale of flavored tobacco products, including all e-cigarettes except those that taste like tobacco, and would exclude hookahs and some cigars. Related Articles He cited a 2018 study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that found that 67% of high school students and 49% of middle school students who used tobacco products in the prior 30 days reported using a flavored tobacco product during that time. By Guy Bentley and Jacob James Rich March 4, 2020 State lawmakers are moving to ban the sale of all flavored tobacco products, including menthol cigarettes, smokeless tobacco, and cigars. The California state legislature passed a ban on Newports and other menthol cigarettes, following a similar measure approved in Massachusetts last year. California is inviting an even larger black market to develop. GET BREAKING NEWS IN YOUR BROWSER. confirmed that suspicion a week later, listing “acute respiratory failure; COVID-19" as the cause of death. And menthol cigarettes aren’t uniquely addictive or appealing to youth. A coalition representing the tobacco industry said Tuesday it has turned in more than 1 million signatures as it seeks to qualify a referendum for the November 2022 ballot aimed at overturning a law banning the retail sale of flavored tobacco products in California. The holidays can be brutal for children of alcoholics, especially amid a pandemic that traps families at home. Jacob James Rich is a policy analyst at Reason Foundation, a free market think tank, and an opportunity fellow at Young Voices. Festivus grievances from our editorial board Pope’s Christmas Day plea: Make COVID-19 vaccines available for everybody. As medical facilities throughout L.A. County experience an onslaught of COVID-19 patients, officials warn that only the sickest should be sent to the ER. How an L.A. indie bookstore’s GoFundMe inspired a small business lifeline. CLICK HERE TO TURN ON NOTIFICATIONS. (Joe Raedle / … Governor Gavin Newsom signed the flavored tobacco ban bill … By Jennifer Maloney and Christine Mai-Duc The California state legislature passed a ban on Newports and other menthol cigarettes, following a similar measure approved in Massachusetts last year. And the recent acceleration of smoking cessation is disproportionately the consequence of smokers switching to much-safer vaping products, the vast majority of which are flavored. L.A. County is probing whether a new, more contagious COVID strain is spreading locally. An exception has been made for hookah and premium cigars, but tobacco manufacturers stand to lose millions in revenue as the ban targets their most popular flavored products. Pope Francis has made a Christmas Day appeal to nations to ensure that COVID-19 vaccines are available for everyone. 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