Since January 2023, California retailers have been prohibited from selling flavored tobacco products or enhancers, and starting this year the state public health department has been charged with enforcing the ban.
A new bill wants to get even tougher.
“California youth who co-use tobacco and cannabis were most likely to have absenteeism and lower grades,” the study said.
The authors recommended comprehensive efforts to prevent or reduce youth substance use to improve educational outcomes in the state.
The organization is a leading advocacy group working to reduce tobacco use among youth in America and globally.
Despite broad support from anti-tobacco groups, the bill has gained a few critics. Republican Sens. Brian Dahle, Shannon Grove, Kelly Seyarto, Roger Niello, and Brian Jones voted against the bill in May.
Mr. Dahle told The Epoch Times on July 11 that the proposed measure was “redundant.”
“Nothing is preventing state agencies and law enforcement from enforcing current law,” he said.
He suggested a better alternative would be to assess how California agencies are administering current law “and then determine if there is an actual need for the bill.”
Mr. Niello said he thought it was “a little soon to be enhancing enforcement and penalties” and would prefer to see a “more relevant” issue dealt with, such as finding out why enforcement agencies were struggling to uphold current law.
SB 1230 passed in the Senate with a vote of 31–5 in May. It will likely face an Assembly vote after the Legislature’s summer recess ends on Aug. 5.
