The US Supreme Court put an end to RJ Reynolds’ case challenging LA county’s ban on flavored tobacco sales.
The US Supreme Court declined to hear the case brought by RJ Reynolds Tobacco Company challenging Los Angeles County's ban on the sale of flavored tobacco products, according to Reuters.
Supreme Court justices rejected RJ Reynold’s appeal of the lower court's ruling upholding the 2020 ban, which covers items like menthol cigarettes and vape juice. The company argued that only the federal government, not state or local governments, had the legal jurisdiction to regulate tobacco products.
After Massachusetts in 2019, California became the second state to outlaw the sale of any flavored tobacco products when governor Gavin Newsom signed the ban - a response to worries about a spike in teen tobacco and e-cigarette usage- into law in 2020. The ban was upheld by voters in a 2022 ballot initiative.
Last year a three-judge panel of the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco upheld the ban by a 2-1 decision, finding that the tobacco industry misinterpreted the federal Tobacco Control Act passed in 2009 which gave the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) sole authority to develop and enforce “tobacco product standards” while also noting that FDA has the exclusive power to regulate the production and marketing of tobacco products, but not their retail sales.
A coalition representing the industry amassed enough signatures to submit a ballot initiative to voters to halt the statewide ban. Voters casting ballots approved the sales ban by over two thirds.