Bill would ban tobacco sales

Proposal seeks prohibition for anyone born after Jan. 1, 2007

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Some California lawmakers want to ban all tobacco sales in the nation’s most populous state, filing legislation to make it illegal to sell cigarettes and other products to anyone born after Jan. 1, 2007.

If signed into law, it would mean by 2073 people wanting to buy cigarettes would have to show ID to prove they are at least 67 years old.

“We can ensure that the next generation of children in California do not become addicted to smoking,” said Assembly member Damon Connolly, a Democrat from San Rafael and the author of the bill.

The proposal is likely to face opposition from the tobacco industry, which would fight to maintain access to its largest U.S. market. If the ban were to become law, the industry could sue to block it. It could also challenge the ban at the ballot box, asking voters to stop it from taking effect.

“(The ban) will impact a lot of jobs, and it will have a repercussion throughout the economy of California,” said Charles Janigian, president of the California Association of

Retail Tobacconists.

Connolly and others are confident the ban would survive if they can get it passed in the Legislature. It’s modeled after a similar law New Zealand enacted last year that bans the sale of tobacco products to anyone born after Jan. 1, 2009. In the U.S., the city of Brookline, Massachusetts, enacted a law banning the sale of tobacco products within its borders to anyone born after Jan. 1, 2000 — a law that the courts have allowed to remain in effect.

In 2020, California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a law banning the sale of most flavored tobacco products in the state. The tobacco industry asked voters to block the law, but in November, voters allowed it to take effect.

The bill would not penalize people for using or possessing tobacco products. Instead, it would fine retailers for selling to them. Connolly said he is open to amendments that might create an exemption for religious and cultural uses. But he said the ban would not affect marijuana, which is legal to smoke recreationally in California.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that smoking marijuana includes many of the same toxins and cancer-causing chemicals found in tobacco smoke.

The ban could eliminate income for the state, as California collected more than $1.5 billion in tobacco taxes in 2021, according to the California Department of Tax and Fee Regulation.

Connolly said the ban would save taxpayers money, citing the “tremendous impacts of nicotine and tobacco on our public health system.”