SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The tobacco industry-funded group behind an effort to undo a pending state ban on the sale of most flavored tobacco products, including menthol cigarettes, has submitted more than 1 million petition signatures.
The California Coalition for Fairness — which is funded by R.J Reynolds Tobacco Company, Philip Morris USA and ITG Brands — must submit at least 623,212 verified signatures in order to qualify a referendum on Senate Bill 793 for the 2022 ballot.
The group expressed confidence that it will meet that number as counties verify signatures this month.
"In the midst of an unprecedented pandemic, raging wildfires, heatwaves and power outages across the state, more than one million Californians signed petitions for the right to have their voice heard on an unfair law that benefits the wealthy and special interests while costing jobs and cutting funding for education and healthcare," the group said in a statement.
Lawmakers passed SB 793 earlier this year, though the bill met with some controversy as it made its way through the Legislature.
The bill bans the sale of most flavored tobacco products, including menthol cigarettes, though it carves out several exemptions, including hookah, pipe and loose-leaf tobacco and high-dollar cigars.
The law is set to go into effect in the new year, though if the referendum qualifies the law will be paused until voters have a say.
The referendum campaign was met with criticism from the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, a major supporter of the law.
"We know Big Tobacco has hidden behind smoke and lies for years to hook generations of young people on deadly tobacco products, and this referendum is just one more tactic to continue the status quo," said Advocacy Director Lindsey Freitas in a statement. "Governor Newsom and the Legislature stood up to Big Tobacco's unrelentingly dishonest campaigns, and if this referendum qualifies for the ballot, we're confident that California voters will reject Big Tobacco's desperate attempt to keep hooking our kids for a profit. But the delay will be costly and deadly."
According to the campaign, the tobacco industry has spent $21 million in order to get the referendum on the November 2022 ballot. The campaign argues that delaying SB 793 from going into effect will generate $1.1 billion in revenue from the sale of menthol cigarettes alone.
"Approximately 17,000 lives will be lost while 37,000 more high school kids will start using e-cigarettes, costing the state $800 million in healthcare costs," the campaign said in a statement.
The tobacco industry-funded California Coalition for Fairness argues that "banning the sale of FDA-authorized alternatives to adult cigarette smokers will cause serious and lasting damage to tobacco harm reduction goals and potentially increase California's rising budget deficit during COVID-19."
