BY ELIZABETH AGUILERA, CalMatters
Cotton candy vape, tropical fusion cigarillos and menthol cigarettes will be extinct in California after a bill aimed at stopping kids from getting addicted to tobacco sailed through the Legislature Friday — and the governor almost immediately signed it.
Even so, it’s been an uphill battle for the bill, whose supporters have tried to ban flavored tobacco statewide before and failed. This time, the bill was helped along by skyrocketing vaping among teens, several marijuana vape-related deaths last year, concerns about respiratory health amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, a shortened legislative session and a supportive governor.
That still didn’t stop tobacco companies from waging an intense opposition campaign that called the proposal discriminatory toward Black and Latino adult smokers, who prefer menthols.
Critics of the proposal were disappointed they didn’t have more time to try to persuade Gov. Gavin Newsom not to sign the bill.
“It was a mistake,” said Rev. K.W. Tulloss, president of the Baptist Ministers Conference of Los Angeles and Southern California. “We hoped (Newsom) would have looked into the unintended consequences. I wish they would have heard us.”
Earlier in the day, Newsom had signaled his strong support for the bill, authored by San Mateo Democratic Sen. Jerry Hill. At his semi-daily news conference, Newsom stated he had been very clear about his “absolute condemnation of this tobacco industry that continues to find ways to target our youth.
“It will be a point of deep pride and personal privilege as a father of four and as someone who’s had many, many family members die at the hands of the tobacco industry to sign that bill,” he said.
Hill called the signing of the law a “huge win for our kids and the health of our communities throughout California.” HIll was in a committee meeting when Newsom gave him a video call to say he was going to sign.
A confluence of factors helped push the measure forward this year, including a rare move by Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon, a Los Angeles Democrat, who lent his name to the bill as a coauthor in a show of support.
In recent months, opponents shifted the focus from children to spotlighting African-American smoking habits, making the issue a matter of personal freedom and civil rights.
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