California voters pass proposition banning flavored tobacco

On Tuesday, California voters passed a ballot measure that will ban the sale of most flavored tobacco.

Proposition 31 was placed on the ballot not long after Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill 793, which is the Legislature’s bipartisan effort to combat e-cigarettes along other products popular with kids.

According to LA Times, the law banned the sale of certain flavored tobacco products in stores and vending machines, including menthol cigarettes, but with exceptions made for hookah, premium cigars and loose-leaf tobacco.

Supporters of Proposition 31 said the restrictions would reduce the use of tobacco by youths by removing kid-friendly flavors such as bubblegum, cotton candy and cherry.

“In California’s battle against Big Tobacco, voters have overwhelmingly decided to protect kids from being lured into a lifetime of addiction to nicotine,” said Lindsey Freitas, the regional advocacy director of Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids.

Opponents said the restrictions would take away a proven and effective tool used by smokers to quit traditional cigarettes, and that some communities were unfairly targeted by the law.

Opponents also believe that the law would create a black market where products were not subject to federal guidelines.