Like a spoiled child, Big Tobacco is ignoring a ‘no’ from California voters

Big Tobacco just won’t quit.

The day after California voters overwhelmingly approved Proposition 31 — the flavored tobacco ban — R.J. Reynolds filed a lawsuit in federal court that could delay its implementation.

Big Tobacco couldn’t wait to turn to the courts — the will of California voters be damned — but what more can we expect from an industry that puts profits above public health, including the health of schoolkids?

In its lawsuit, R.J. Reynolds, along with some smaller tobacco product manufacturers and sellers, argues that the federal Tobacco Control Act preempts state and local governments from passing laws on what products can and can’t be sold.

It also claims the ban amounts to an attempt to regulate manufacturers outside the state’s borders, in violation of the Commerce Clause.

And — no surprise here — it’s asking for a preliminary injunction to stop the ban from taking effect five days after the election is certified.

That could lead to another delay in implementing a public health measure that was first approved by the state Legislature in 2020 and then upheld by 62% of voters in the Nov. 8 election.

And for what?

To right some great injustice?

Or to allow tobacco companies to increase profits by selling more of their product to kids?

And please, don’t tell us it’s illegal for minors to buy tobacco products; they’re obviously circumventing the rules.

What’s especially galling is that tobacco companies have been down this legal road before — and lost.

As recently as March of this year, the state’s Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal upheld a similar flavored tobacco ban in Los Angeles County, passed in 2019 by the L.A. County Board of Supervisors.

The Michigan-based Public Health Law Center wrote that the newly filed complaint seeking to strike down California’s new law “raises the same arguments that have been previously raised — and dismissed — by state and federal courts.”

State Attorney General Rob Bonta has vowed to “vigorously defend” the law in court, as he should.

But that doesn’t make up for this affront to voters.

If you’re one of that 62% who voted in favor of the ban and you feel like something’s rotten, you’re 100% right.

Something is very wrong with the process when any large corporation with enough money can hijack laws designed to protect public health.

That’s exactly what Big Tobacco has done here.

First, it spent millions of dollars gathering signatures to force a vote on the flavored tobacco ban passed in 2020.

When the referendum qualified for the ballot, the law was put on hold for two years, allowing tobacco companies to earn an estimated $1.1 billion in revenue from sales of candy- and fruit-flavored products that are especially appealing — and harmful — to young people.

It’s a ploy that’s becoming more common in California, as industries try to overturn — or at least delay — legislation from taking effect, all in an effort to protect profits.

It’s a lousy practice that should prompt state lawmakers to take a close look at whether there’s anything that can be done to rein in the practice.

For starters, how about cracking down on paid signature gatherers who peddle false information to get more voters to sign their petitions, which means more money in their pockets?

There have been allegations of that happening right now, in connection with an oil industry campaign to overturn a state law requiring new oil and gas operations to be at least 3,200 feet away from homes, schools, churches and hospitals to protect public health.

“They’ll say anything to make it happen,” wrote Andrew Christie, director of the Santa Lucia Chapter of the Sierra Club. “But no, the setbacks law is not an ‘energy shutdown’ and it won’t affect the price of gas.”

The law is supposed to take effect in January, but if the signature campaign is successful, it will be delayed at least through 2024.

In the meantime, oil and gas companies can still get permits that violate the setback rule — just as Big Tobacco was able to continue selling flavored products.

Public health be damned.

This story was originally published November 17, 2022 at 6:00 AM with the headline "Like a spoiled child, Big Tobacco is ignoring a ‘no’ from California voters."