San Franciscans will vote next June on whether to keep the city's ban on flavored tobacco products, after the Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to reject an appeal of the prohibition that it approved in July.
In a unanimous vote, supervisors upheld their move to ban flavored tobacco products—including menthol cigarettes and flavored vaping juice—after a coalition called Let's Be Real San Francisco gathered enough signatures to push the repeal to the June 2018 ballot.
The coalition—made up of industry organizations such as the Arab American Grocers Association, the National Association of Tobacco Outlets—is primarily funded by the R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company.
According to public records, the company has contributed nearly $700,000 to the campaign.
The coalition argues that outright bans on certain products do little to reduce use. It pointed to prohibition in the 1920s and "the failed war on drugs"—where consumers use underground markets to make purchases—as examples.
The group urged voters to reject the ban at the ballot and "support San Francisco’s long-standing spirit of not restricting freedom of choice by telling responsible adults what they can and cannot do."
It also argued that the ban will harm small business owners who rely on the sales.
District 10 Supervisor Malia Cohen introduced the legislation earlier this summer, arguing that flavored tobacco is disproportionately marketed to vulnerable populations such as children and young adults, African-Americans and LGBTQ people.
Before voting for the ban, Cohen said she believes flavored tobacco is a "starter product" that gets users hooked and makes them life-long addicts. She also said anti-youth smoking programs and restricting sales to minors through checking identification have not curbed use of these products.
"Tobacco-related cancers lead all other cancer death rates in San Francisco, for both men and women," she said. "This legislation will reduce the number of new tobacco users that pick up the habit each year."
Cohen also called R.J. Reynolds a "notorious killer" and said in response to the Let's Be Real San Francisco coalition's campaign that "a company that kills people is bankrolling a campaign they claim is about freedom of choice. Their campaign is about protecting profits."
While the ban was approved and an appeal rejected by the Board, the ban will be put on hold until voters decide the outcome at the ballot box next summer.
