A little over two months after a bill seeking to ban the sale of tobacco products to persons born after Jan. 1, 2007 was introduced by California Assembly Member Damon Connolly, D-San Rafael, he has abandoned the effort to enact what was referred to as a generational tobacco ban, rewriting the bill in favor of strengthening the state’s ban on flavored tobacco products that went into effect in December 2022.

After being introduced in February, the bill failed to gain the support of numerous anti-tobacco groups, which appeared to lead to a lack of enthusiasm amongst lawmakers to pursue the bill’s passage as written. This includes groups like the American Cancer Society, the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, the American Heart Association and the American Lung Association, all of whom were supporters of the ban on flavored tobacco but did not come out with a position on Connolly’s proposal.

Now, AB 935 calls for making the provisions of the flavored tobacco ban punishable by civil penalties in the same manner as the Stop Tobacco Access to Kids Enforcement (STAKE) Act, an existing law that prohibits individuals from selling or otherwise furnishing tobacco products to persons under 21-years-old. That law provides civil penalties and tasks the state’s Department of Public Health (CDPH) with enforcement.

In a press release, Connolly said that he is now focused on refusing confusion among retailers regarding which products are prohibited, and that by authorizing CDPH and the Attorney General to enforce the law, those agencies will be able to provide uniform direction to ensure SB 793 is properly upheld and retailers have the information they need to stay in compliance with the law.

Connolly has already plans to re-introduce the generational tobacco ban bill next year.

“We are disappointed we will not be continuing with the phased tobacco sales ban this year,” said Connolly. “However, we plan to bring it up again next year and redouble our efforts to bring all stakeholders on board.”

The bill remains active in the California Assembly, having been passed as amended by the Health Committee on April 11 by a 10-4 vote. It has been re-referred to the Committee on Governmental Organization.

 

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Patrick Lagreid

I strive to capture the essence of a cigar and the people behind them in my work – every cigar you light up is the culmination of the work of countless people and often represents generations of struggle and stories. For me, it’s about so much more than the cigar – it’s about the story behind it, the experience of enjoying the work of artisans and the way that a good cigar can bring people together. In addition to my work with halfwheel, I’m the public address announcer for the Colorado Rockies and Arizona Diamondbacks during spring training, as well as for the Salt River Rafters of the Arizona Fall League, the WNBA's Phoenix Mercury and previously the Arizona Rattlers of the Indoor Football League. I also work in a number of roles for MLB.com, plus I'm a voice over artist. Prior to joining halfwheel, I covered the Phoenix and national cigar scene for Examiner.com, and was an editor for Cigar Snob magazine.