With over 40% of votes counted, California voters appear poised to approve Proposition 31 by an overwhelming margin, which would prohibit the sale of flavored soda and tobacco products in stores. So far, 62% of voters support the flavor ban.
The financial support for this voting initiative comes almost entirely from billionaire anti-smoking activist Michael Bloomberg.
Proposal 31 allows residents with voting rights to approve or reject a bill passed by the California legislature in 2020 by a significant margin. After a signature campaign funded by tobacco companies submitted the legislation to voters, the law was postponed for two years.
A ban on flavored products, including e-cigarettes, nicotine pouches, and tobacco, will be implemented later this year according to a new law. The law prohibits the sale of all smoking products with flavors other than tobacco in physical stores. This ban extends to nicotine-free e-liquids and so-called "flavor enhancers", which may include disposable DIY mixtures.
Proposal 31 could even prohibit the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) from authorizing the sale and designation of seasoning products as "suitable for protecting public health" (so far, the FDA has not authorized any seasoning products).
The law also prohibits the sale of flavored nicotine pouches (which are almost always flavored), menthol cigarettes, flavored cigars, and flavored smokeless tobacco, including snuff. The flavor ban does not include hookah products, pipe tobacco, and cigars.
As expected, California is set to become the second state to ban the retail sale of all flavored tobacco and nicotine products, including those that have been granted marketing authorization by the FDA.
I'm sorry to say to smokers in California that they'll find it easier to purchase Marlboro than e-liquids." - Gregory Conley (@GregTHR) November 9, 2022.
The law does not prohibit online sales, but California law mandates that online sales of e-cigarette products – even those originating from out of state – involve a cumbersome process for retailers.
California, along with Massachusetts, is now the only state that has banned the use of flavored tobacco products, including menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars. Three other states, New Jersey, New York, and Rhode Island, have currently banned the use of flavored e-cigarettes (all passed in early 2020), but the sale of menthol cigarettes has not been affected.
Bloomberg's personal expenditure has exceeded the entire tobacco industry's expenditure.
Matthew Myers, the chairman of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, stated that the passage of Proposal 31 "provides strong momentum for other states and cities, as well as the Food and Drug Administration, to take similar action. The FDA has already proposed rules to ban menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars.
Despite receiving support from almost all national and California public health and tobacco control organizations, as well as California Governor Gavin Newsom (who also won re-election yesterday) and most Democratic politicians, Myers only specifically thanked one person in the organization's press release.
For years, the tobacco industry has been targeting young people and spending billions of dollars promoting flavored products, which are known pathways to lifelong tobacco use. Tobacco remains one of the leading causes of disease and death in the United States. This statement was made by Mike Bloomberg on November 9th, 2022.
We also thank Michael R. Bloomberg for his exceptional leadership in this campaign," Miles said. "No one has done more in combating tobacco use and saving lives around the world.
Former New York City Mayor Bloomberg, who has a net worth of around $77 billion, reportedly donated almost the entire $47 million spent by the organization leading the "Prop 31" campaign to protect the California Children's Trust. According to the East Bay Times, the average American worker would have to work full-time for over 1,900 years to earn the amount of money Bloomberg put towards supporting Proposition 31.
The group "Californians Against Prohibition" who are against this law is nearly entirely funded by tobacco giants, Philip Morris (a subsidiary of the Altria Group) and RJ Reynolds Tobacco Company (a subsidiary of British American Tobacco). These two tobacco companies have each contributed over $9 million, primarily to protect their sales of menthol cigarettes in the largest state in the United States.
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