California has become the largest state in the United States to ban the sale in stores or through vending machines of menthol cigarettes, electronic cigarettes and flavored vaporizers.
With majority support, Californians decided in November of last year to approve what is known as proposition 31 and thus veto the popular flavored tobacco.
The so-called “Golden State” follows in the footsteps of Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, and Rhode Island in the prohibition of these products, among which are specifically electronic and menthol cigarettes or with a flavor or aroma different from tobacco, chewing tobacco itself and vaporizers.
From now on, establishments that continue to sell them could face penalties of up to $250 per violation.
The text of this measure leaves exempt ban the sale of flavored tobacco with fruits and different flavors for hookah, cigars or loose leaf tobacco.
The approval of this proposal supposes the ratification of a law of 2020 which prohibited the sale of most of these products and puts an end to the fight of different organizations against the tobacco industry in their objective of counteracting the addiction of young people to vaporizers.
And it is that, according to Tobacco Free Kids -one of the main anti-smoking organizations in the US-, 80% of young people from 12 to 17 years who start smoking do so using vaporizers or menthol cigarettes.
The application of the 2020 law was delayed for two years after the tobacco companies managed to delay it and it was submitted to the referendum held this Tuesday, to which they allocated 25 million euros to promote its rejection.
According to the “Yes on Proposition 31” campaign, these companies have entered 830 million dollars only for the sale of menthol cigarettes since 2021.
Therefore, its approval also has an impact on the state budget because, when maintained, it will stop entering until 100 million dollars per year for taxes on flavored tobacco.
As a precedent, the Californian city of San Francisco It also became the first widely populated city in the US in 2020 to completely ban the sale of electronic cigarettes.
In addition, more than 160 municipal governments in California have already imposed some form of ban on flavored tobacco, according to Tobacco Free Kids data.
Miami bans cigarette smoking on beaches and public parks
As of January 1, 2023, cigarettes, cigars, pipe tobacco, and any other lighted tobacco products are not permitted on public beaches and parks in miami beach.
The island city and other coastal cities of the state of the Florida They’ve wanted to ban smoking on the beach for years, but a state law prevented them from doing so: that was seen as up to state legislators.
That changed on July 1, 2022, after Governor Ron DeSantis sign a new bill giving cities the right to ban smoking on the beach. Pompano Beach immediately imposed a ban. Other cities, like Fort Lauderdale, Deerfield Beach, mouth mouse Y Delray BeachThey have done it or will do it soon.
Cigarette butts are the most common pollutant on the city’s beaches, parks and waterways, the city attorney said Raphael Peace in a memo.
The filters are made of plastic microfibers, which delays their biodegradation process for years. They also contain toxic materials, such as arsenic, which affect the animals that digest them, especially shorebirds. Also, they are difficult to clean.
(With information from EFE)
Keep reading:
Miami Beach: Ban on Cigarette Smoking on Beaches and Public Parks Starting January 1
Source-www.infobae.com