Governor Newsom Signs AB 3218 (Wood)

Improving Implementation of the Ban on Flavored Tobacco Products

For immediate release:

Monday, September 30, 2024

Sacramento, CA -Saturday, Governor Newsom signed AB 3218, authored by Assembly Speaker pro Tempore Jim Wood (D-Healdsburg), sponsored by Attorney General Rob Bonta with Speaker Robert Rivas as Principal Coauthor, a bill to improve implementation of current law that bans flavored tobacco products in California.

On November 8, 2022, California voters upheld state law prohibiting tobacco retailers from selling most flavored tobacco products, including flavored e-cigarettes, menthol cigarettes and tobacco product flavor enhancers.

Flavored tobacco products are the central cause of unfavorable trends in youth addiction to tobacco. Tobacco companies intentionally use flavors to mask the bitter taste of nicotine, a highly addictive drug that harms brain development in young people. Young people who are initiated into tobacco use through flavored tobacco products are more likely to become long-term users and suffer grievous health effects as a result.

"As a practicing dentist, I have forever opposed the use of tobacco of any kind, and will continue to support policies that restrict its use," said Wood. "Since my time on the Healdsburg City Council many years ago, I have successfully supported and passed measures to protect the health of Californians from the use of tobacco products, especially youth."

Despite the retail sale prohibition in current law, flavored tobacco products continue to be sold in California. AB 3218 will allow the Attorney General to make publicly available a list of permissible products so that industry participants and law enforcement will be able to easily identify what products can lawfully be sold and will create penalties for the sale of these products as well as provide the ability to seize the products.

"California has been a leader in combatting the sale of addictive flavored tobacco products, and AB 3218 will further strengthen these efforts by providing new tools to protect the health of all Californians, particularly our youth, from the dangers of these harmful products," said Attorney General Bonta. "I am grateful to Governor Newsom, Speaker Rivas, and Assemblymember Wood for their leadership in holding the tobacco industry accountable for their actions targeting our youth. At the California Department of Justice, we will continue to use every tool at our disposal to ensure sellers across the state come into full compliance with the law."

"We must continue to crack down on flavored-tobacco sellers who prey on our children, and this legislation will provide law enforcement with new tools and authority to target the illicit, shameful vendors exploiting the law and harming our young people," said Speaker Rivas. "I thank Attorney General Rob Bonta, who is again a partner in this critical work, and Assembly member Jim Wood for their dedication and leadership."

"Protecting our youth from the market ploys and products that facilitate addictive behavior and harm their health has no business in California and now we can make implementation of these laws well defined and the enforcement sound," said Wood. "We appreciate the support of our cosponsors - Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, American Heart Association and the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network -- who continue their fight to protect people, especially young people, from the dangers of tobacco use."

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