On September 28, a new bill was passed & signed into law in California by Governor Gavin Newsom that dramatically affects cigar sales in the state. Is this bill an existential threat to cigars in California? And possibly a blueprint for other states to wipe out cigar sales in the future? We discuss the consequences of the bill & the potential cigar crisis in California & potenially beyond.
The Cigar Authority is a member of the United Podcast Network and is recorded live in front of a studio audience at Studio 21 Podcast Cafe upstairs at Two Guys Smoke Shop in Salem, NH
Assembly Bill No. 3218 reads:
“This bill would require the Attorney General to, by no later than December 31, 2025, establish and maintain on the Attorney General’s internet website a list of tobacco product brand styles that lack a characterizing flavor, as defined.This bill would require each manufacturer or importer of tobacco products to submit to the Attorney General a list of all brand styles, as defined, of tobacco products that they manufacture or import for sale or distribution in or into California. The bill would require a manufacturer or importer that submits a product pursuant to these provisions to, under penalty of perjury, describe each brand style, brand, and product category, as specified, describe, for each brand style, if a formal authorization, approval, or order from the United States Food and Drug Administration has been sought and its status, if applicable, and certify that each brand style lacks a characterizing flavor.”
Along with stating:
“The bill would require the Attorney General to determine whether each brand style has a characterizing flavor, as specified. The bill would require any manufacturer or importer that submits a brand style in this way to, among other things, consent to the jurisdiction of the California courts for the purpose of enforcing these provisions and to appoint an agent for service of process, as specified. The bill would authorize the Attorney General to seek injunctive relief and a civil penalty up to $50,000 against any manufacturer or importer who falsely certifies that brand style determined to have a characteristic flavor, lacks a characteristic flavor.“
And for retailers:
This bill would also ban the retail sale of any tobacco product not on the Unflavored Tobacco List, as specified. The bill would authorize the California Tax and Fee Administration or a law enforcement agency that discovers that a retailer possesses, stores, owns, or has made a retail sale of flavored tobacco products or tobacco product flavor enhancers to seize those products, as specified. Under the bill, seized products would be delivered to the department within 30 days and deemed forfeited to the state. The bill would require the department to issue a civil penalty against the retailer equal to $50 per individual package of flavored tobacco product or tobacco product flavor enhancer seized or delivered to the department, with increasing penalties for subsequent seizures.
