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Tag: California

  • Bloom Earns Quality Certification

    Bloom Earns Quality Certification

    Bloom, a national cannabis vape brand, announced it has earned Environmental & Consumer Compliance Organization (ECCO) Certification in California — raising the bar for product testing, accountability, and transparency within the cannabis industry. Regulatory enforcement and lab testing standards vary widely across states in the cannabis market, often resulting in inconsistent, conflicting product results.

    “By achieving ECCO Certification, Bloom reaffirms our commitment to delivering high-quality products for our customers,” said Thomas Brinly, VP of Operations and Supply Chain at Bloom. “This certification ensures that consumers have transparent, verified information about what’s in their vapes—tested beyond standard regulatory requirements. We encourage other brands to join us in raising the bar for product integrity and consistency across the cannabis industry.”

    ECCO is an independent, nonprofit organization committed to consumer and environmental safety. Products certified by ECCO are rigorously screened for over 100 potential contaminants beyond what the California DCC requires. This is all done through ongoing third-party lab testing. Certification is only awarded to brands that pass stringent benchmarks for safety, integrity, and transparency. ECCO is currently offered in the state of California.

  • Five Suspects Indicted in California for Illegally Selling Tobacco

    Five Suspects Indicted in California for Illegally Selling Tobacco

    California Attorney General Rob Bonta today (April 10) announced the grand jury indictment of five suspects for selling tobacco without a license and committing tax fraud that cost the state more than $24 million in lost tax revenue. The suspects were indicted on 118 counts of conspiracy, selling tobacco as an unlicensed distributor, filing false tax returns, money laundering, and a white-collar enhancement. 

    “From the investigation to prosecution, my office is dedicated to seeing these five defendants pay for their crimes against the people of California,” Bonta said.“Schemes that defraud the government of millions in taxpayer money will not be tolerated. Today’s announcement should serve as a reminder: If you break the law and engage in fraud and theft, my office will hold you accountable.”

    From January 2017 to April 2024, the suspects allegedly engaged in the importation of untaxed tobacco products into California using shell entities, subsequently selling these products to customers in the state while evading the tobacco excise tax. This operation involved a series of coordinated actions aimed at misusing personal and regulatory information, hiding the source of funds used for purchasing untaxed tobacco, concealing the arrival of tobacco shipments in California, misleading customers about compliance, and avoiding obligations related to California’s tobacco excise tax. 

    Additionally, the five suspects perpetuated their scheme by submitting false monthly excise tax returns to the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration or, in some cases, neglecting to file these returns altogether.

  • California County Bans Filtered Cigarettes

    California County Bans Filtered Cigarettes

    Photo: lienkie

    The Board of Supervisors of Santa Cruz County, California, on Oct. 29 decided to ban the sale of filtered cigarettes and cigars, making it the world’s first jurisdiction to do so, according to Action on Smoking and Health (ASH).

    The sales ban will apply to all unincorporated areas of the county and requires that two of the four incorporated cities in the county pass similar ordinances before coming into effect.

    Cigarette filters are the world’s leading source of trash and the leading source of plastic pollution. Globally, approximately 4.5 trillion used filters are discarded into the environment every year. Filters are nonbiodegradable and cannot be feasibly collected or recycled.

    “There are no downstream solutions to the plague of cigarette filters,” said Laurent Huber, executive director of ASH. “The only practical choice is to eliminate them from the market.”

    “In addition to adding microplastics to the environment, hazardous chemicals from tobacco smoke that are trapped in the filters leach into water and soil,” said Georg E. Matt, co-director of the Center for Tobacco and the Environment at San Diego State University. “Cigarette filters have no health benefits to smokers; they just make it easier to get people addicted and keep them addicted.”

    Around the world, several jurisdictions are also considering filter bans. Environmental ministries in Belgium and the Netherlands have recommended banning filters, and over the past several years, bills have been introduced in several U.S. states. Current negotiations at the United Nations on a treaty to end plastic pollution include text banning filters worldwide.

    The tobacco industry added filters to cigarettes in the 1950s in response to growing health concerns about smoking, but critics contend that they don’t reduce the health risks. More than 98 percent of cigarettes are filtered.

  • California: Santa Cruz Bans Sale of Filtered Tobacco

    California: Santa Cruz Bans Sale of Filtered Tobacco

    TR Archives

    The Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously on Tuesday to ban the sale of filtered cigarettes in unincorporated areas of the county.

    The ordinance was created by the Board’s Tobacco Waste Ad Hoc Subcommittee. It was supported by a coalition of environmental, health, educational and other groups and stakeholders.

    “This is a momentous day that builds on the work our community has been doing for generations to protect our environment and establish Santa Cruz County as a global leader in the environmental movement,” Board of Supervisors Chair Justin Cummings said. “While the County is the first to take this step, by no means will we be the last. We look forward to working with local cities and other jurisdictions to protect our coast, our environment and our people.”

    The sale of unfiltered cigarettes, cigars, loose-leaf and chewing tobacco, unflavored vape pens and other tobacco products will still be allowed, according to media reports.

    The ordinance will go into effect on Jan. 1, 2027.

    “Cigarette butts are the most littered item on the planet, they provide absolutely no health benefit to smokers, and they are poisonous to the environment. Let’s ban this toxic trash,” Supervisor Manu Koenig said.

  • California Governor Signs Bill Against Fake Menthols

    California Governor Signs Bill Against Fake Menthols

    Photo: fizkes

    California Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law two bills to strengthen enforcement of California’s law ending the sale of flavored tobacco products. On Jan. 1, 2023, California implemented one of United States’ strongest laws prohibiting the sale of flavored tobacco products, including flavored e-cigarettes and menthol cigarettes.

    In response, tobacco and e-cigarette companies introduced products mimicking the taste and cooling effects of menthol without actually using the prohibited substance.

    The new laws are designed to thwart those initiatives.

    One bill (AB 3218) requires the state Attorney General to establish and maintain a list of unflavored tobacco products, putting the onus on the tobacco industry to demonstrate that a product does not have a flavor and can be legally sold in California.

    The bill also updates the definition of a prohibited “characterizing flavor” to include products that impart a menthol-like cooling sensation, thereby making it illegal to sell the menthol-like cigarettes that tobacco companies introduced to evade California’s prohibition on the sale of menthol cigarettes.

    The second bill (SB 1230) authorizes the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration to seize illegal, flavored tobacco products discovered during routine tobacco tax inspections.

  • Lawmakers Act Against ‘Mimic Menthols’

    Lawmakers Act Against ‘Mimic Menthols’

    Photo: niroworld

    The California legislature has passed two bills to strengthen enforcement of the state’s law ending the sale of flavored tobacco products. The legislation must still be signed into law by Governor Gavin Newsom.

    On Jan. 1, 2023, California implemented one of the strongest laws  in the United States prohibiting the sale of flavored tobacco products, including flavored e-cigarettes and menthol cigarettes. In response, tobacco companies have developed alternative products that provide a similar cooling sensation with a less pronounced flavor. While tobacco companies insisted the such “mimic menthols” complied with state law, critics said they were designed to circumvent California’s rules.

    One of the new bills (AB 3218) requires the state Attorney General to establish and maintain a list of unflavored tobacco products, putting the onus on the tobacco industry to demonstrate that a product does not have a flavor and can be legally sold in California. The bill also updates the definition of a prohibited “characterizing flavor” to include products that impart a menthol-like cooling sensation, thereby making it illegal to sell tobacco companies’ menthol-like cigarettes.

    The second bill (SB 1230) authorizes the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration to seize illegal, flavored tobacco products discovered during routine tobacco tax inspections.

    Anti-tobacco activists advocates welcomed the move. “We applaud the California leaders who have championed these bills,” said Yolonda C. Richardson, president and CEO of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, in a statement. “They are ensuring that California’s law works as intended to protect kids from tobacco addiction, advance health equity and save lives.”

  • Federal Judge OKs Altria, Juul Class Action

    Federal Judge OKs Altria, Juul Class Action

    Image: H_Ko

    A federal judge approved the final part of a class action settlement with the e-cigarette company Juul Labs and its parent company Altria, bringing the settlement total to just over $300 million.

    In 2018, the plaintiffs charged Juul Labs with misleading the public about the addictiveness of Juul and the risk of the e-cigarettes and its nicotine cartridges.

    The plaintiffs also said Juul had targeted teenagers with candy-flavored Juul pods and “multimillion-dollar ad campaigns and social media blitzes using alluring imagery.”

    The case survived a number of hurdles: The judge denied multiple motions to dismiss the suit and agreed to certify four different classes of plaintiffs (a nationwide class, a nationwide youth class, a California class and a California youth class).

    In January, the judge gave preliminary approval to a $255 million settlement between Juul Labs and the plaintiffs, according to Courthouse news. Friday’s ruling grants approval to Altria’s payment of $45,531,250. The sides have yet to reach an agreement on attorneys fees.

    “Court finds that this monetary recovery is fair, reasonable, and adequate given the risks of proceeding to trial and the maximum recovery potentially available to Settlement Class Members if the Class Representatives had prevailed at trial,” wrote U.S. District Judge William Orrick in his order.

    Last year, Juul agreed to pay six states $462 million to settle claims that it had marketed its vaping products to teenagers. The year before that, it agreed to pay $438.5 million to 33 different states and Puerto Rico.

    Altria Group exchanged its entire investment in Juul Labs in 2023 for a non-exclusive, irrevocable global license to certain of Juul’s heated tobacco intellectual property.

  • Attorneys General Urge Menthol Ban

    Attorneys General Urge Menthol Ban

    Credit: Jet City Image

    A coalition of 21 state attorneys general submitted a letter to the White House Office of Management and Budget urging the Biden administration to complete its review and swiftly implement proposed bans on menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars.

    “The proposed FDA rules, which are supported by ample evidence, have been long overdue,” said California Attorney General Rob Bonta in a press release. “In today’s letter, the coalition specifically highlights calls for action by civil rights and public health groups to remove menthol tobacco products from the marketplace to protect public health and address the systemic and disproportionate impact of these products on minority communities and other vulnerable populations, including young people.”

    Bonta said tobacco companies have intentionally targeted specific communities across the nation, particularly communities of color, which has contributed to significant health disparities and inequities.

    “The time to act is now,” said Bonta. “I urge the Biden Administration to finally halt the sale of these flavored tobacco products, which will lay the groundwork to reverse decades of disparities in tobacco use and save lives.” 

    In the letter, the multistate coalition urges the Biden Administration to finalize its review of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s proposed rules without delay.

    “As state and territorial chief legal officers, the attorneys general address unfounded claims that the proposed menthol ban will increase illicit trade or criminalize the individual purchase, possession, or use of menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars,” the letter states. “The coalition argues that the FDA’s proposed rules are critical steps for advancing health equity and protecting public health. Moreover, banning menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars will bring the country closer to achieving the Cancer Moonshot, President Biden’s historic push “to end cancer as we know it.”

    Bonta co-leads the attorneys general of Arizona, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Mariana Islands, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Dakota, and District of Columbia.

    A copy of the letter can be found here.

  • Top Court Won’t Hear Flavor Ban Challenge

    Top Court Won’t Hear Flavor Ban Challenge

    Image: Bill Chizek

    The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to hear a legal challenge to California’s ban on flavored tobacco, reports Reuters.

    On Jan. 8, the justices rejected an appeal by R.J. Reynolds and other plaintiffs of a lower court’s ruling holding that California’s law did not conflict with a federal statute regulating tobacco products.

    The ruling ends a long battle over tobacco restrictions in the U.S.’ most populous state.

    In 2020, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law a ban on all flavored tobacco products, including menthol cigarettes, following concerns about increased underage vaping and tobacco use.

    The tobacco industry and allied groups then gathered enough signatures for a ballot measure that would block the state from implementing its flavor ban. The move forced California to postpone the Jan. 1, 2021, implementation until after the ballot.

    When the ballot took place in November 2022, nearly two-thirds of participants approved the flavor ban.  

    A day after the California vote, Reynolds, along with a tobacco retailers group and a vape shop, filed a lawsuit arguing that the federal Tobacco Control Act preempts state and local laws that bar flavored tobacco product sales.  

    In  March 2023, a federal judge rejected the plaintiffs claim, citing an earlier decision by the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upholding a similar ban in Los Angeles County.

    California’s flavor ban took effect in December 2022, after the U.S. Supreme Court refused to block the measure in response to an earlier request by the tobacco industry.

    California was the second state to ban all flavored tobacco product sales after Massachusetts, which passed similar legislation in 2019. Several other states have restricted flavored vaping products and several municipalities have adopted their own bans. The Biden administration plans to make a decision on whether to ban menthol cigarettes nationwide  in March.

    Anti-tobacco activists welcomed the Supreme Court ruling. “States and localities should feel secure that they are not federally preempted from passing laws ending the sale of flavored tobacco products,” Yolonda C. Richardson, president and CEO of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, wrote in a statement. “They should move forward expeditiously in passing these laws to protect kids, advance health equity and save lives.”

    Critics of flavor bans say they have boosted out-of-state sales near Massachusetts and spawned an illicit market in California. There has also been controversy over the products that replaced menthol cigarettes in California, with health groups and state officials warning that the new products also violate the flavor ban.

     

  • Flavored Vapes Still Available After Ban

    Flavored Vapes Still Available After Ban

    Image: Olga

    Californians, including minors, are still able to buy flavored vapes online a year after the state enacted a ban on such products, reports The Conversation, citing a study published in Jama Network Open.

    In effect since Dec. 21, 2022, California Senate Bill 793 prohibits the sale of most flavored tobacco products, including e-cigarettes, to people of all ages. Hookahs, premium cigars and loose-leaf tobacco are exempted from the legislation.

    Posing online as minors under the age of 21, researchers tried to buy flavored e-cigarette products from 26 websites that sold them in California. Before SB 793, they succeeded in 52 percent of attempts. After SB 793, the team’s success rate rose to almost 61 percent.

    The study did not explain why flavored e-cigarettes are still available from online retailers in California. “It may be that vendors are flouting the new law, are ignorant of it, or do not believe the new law applies to online sales,” speculated corresponding author John-Patrick Allem, associate professor of social and behavioral sciences at Rutgers University.

    Allem urged authorities to conduct a comprehensive evaluation of SB 793 compliance among brands and vendors that sell their products online in California to help determine the extent to which flavored e-cigarettes are still available.

    Another research team collected weekly Google search rates related to online shopping for cigarettes and vaping products in California from January 2018 to May 2023. They found that shopping queries were 194 percent higher than expected for cigarettes and 162 percent higher than expected for e-cigarettes—which according to the authors suggests consumers are searching on Google for vendors promoting banned products.