A bill that would ban tobacco on public colleges and universities in California has passed the California Assembly.

A.B. 1594 would make it illegal to consume tobacco, including smoking, vaping or chewing, on all public college and university campuses in the state of California.

This includes the University of California System, California State University System and California Community Colleges System. In total, it could affect over 3 million students and another 250,000 staff members.

The bill—proposed by Kevin McCarthy, D-Sacramento—would prohibit the consumption of tobacco and allow colleges and universities to set fines up to $100 for violators.

It passed 41-23 in the Assembly and now moves to the Senate. This is the latest anti-tobacco proposal in California, joining a host of bills passed by both legislatures including a measure that would raise the minimum age to purchase tobacco from 18 to 21.

If passed, California would join Louisiana as the only states with legislation banning tobacco consumption on public colleges and universities, including community colleges.

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Charlie Minato

I am an editor and co-founder of halfwheel.com/Rueda Media, LLC. I previously co-founded and published TheCigarFeed, one of the two predecessors of halfwheel. I have written about the cigar industry for more than a decade, covering everything from product launches to regulation to M&A. In addition, I handle a lot of the behind-the-scenes stuff here at halfwheel. I enjoy playing tennis, watching boxing, falling asleep to the Le Mans 24, wearing sweatshirts year-round and eating gyros. echte liebe.