Supreme Court Declines to Block California’s Flavored Tobacco Ban

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The United States Supreme Court on Dec. 12 refused a request from multiple tobacco companies to block enforcement of California's ban on the sale of flavored tobacco products.

The justices did not provide comment or note any dissents, reported the Associated Press. The ban will now take effect Dec. 21.

R.J. Reynolds Vapor Co., American Snuff Co. LLC, Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Co., Modoral Brands, Neighborhood Market Association and Morija LLC d/b/a Vapin' the 619 asked the Supreme Court for an injunction against California Senate Bill 793 on Nov. 29, as Convenience Store News reported.

The tobacco companies argued that the federal Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act of 2009 allows states and municipalities to regulate tobacco products, but not to ban their use or sale.

The state's path to prohibiting flavored tobacco products began two years ago, when Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the ban into law following near-unanimous support in the California Senate and California Assembly. Two months later, the California Coalition for Fairness submitted more than 1 million signatures from registered voters to the Secretary of State's office in a successful bid to place a referendum that could overturn the legislation on the November 2022 ballot.

California voters approved the flavor ban with more than 63 percent of the vote last month, after which the tobacco companies sought a preliminary injunction that was denied by the District Court for the Southern District of California. They then filed a motion with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit for an injunction to prevent the ban from going into effect. The Ninth Circuit Court denied the motion on Nov. 28, one day before the companies appealed to the Supreme Court.

"An injunction will preserve the decades-old status quo, thereby allowing this court time to decide the merits without letting loose the grave irreparable harm that California's law will inflict," wrote attorney Noel Francisco, who filed an emergency appeal with Justice Elena Kagan, who oversees appeals from the Ninth Circuit.

Otherwise, the companies would be shut out of "one of the nation's largest markets for flavored tobacco products."

Menthol cigarettes make up around a third of the market in California, according to the companies.

The tobacco companies hoped for the court to put enforcement of the ban on hold and hear the case in the spring to decide whether federal law and the California measure are in conflict.

Kagan requested a response from California Attorney General Rob Bonta before forwarding the appeal to the full court.

California will become the second state with a ban on the sale of all flavored tobacco products, following Massachusetts.