California’s attorney general is warning two tobacco companies that their new cigarettes appear to violate a state ban on most flavored tobacco products that was upheld by voters last year.
Attorney General Rob Bonta sent letters to R.J. Reynolds and ITG Brands LLC, dated April 25, warning that the packaging and promotional materials for nine reformulated versions of Camel, Newport, and Kool cigarettes were likely against the law.
California’s ban includes menthol-flavored cigarettes, and the state said it determined after a review that the products are “presumptively flavored under the California flavor ban law.” It gave the companies until June 23 to respond.
The federal government last year announced plans to ban menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars, and tobacco companies’ response to the California law has been seen as a preview of how they would handle a national ban. Rhode Island, New Jersey, New York, and Massachusetts also ban flavored tobacco, which a 2021 survey by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found was favored by young smokers. The mint flavor in menthol cigarettes has a cooling effect that can blunt harsh cigarette smoke, making it easier to start smoking.
R.J. Reynolds, which produces the seven Camel and Newport varieties challenged by the state, said Thursday that its cigarettes comply with the law and that it will work with the attorney general’s office to make sure they can still be sold in California.
The cigarettes “do not impart a distinguishable taste or aroma other than tobacco,” the company said. “We market these products to clearly indicate that they are non-menthol.”
R.J. Reynolds …
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California’s attorney general is warning two tobacco companies that their new cigarettes appear to violate a state ban on most flavored tobacco products that was upheld by voters last year.
Attorney General Rob Bonta sent letters to R.J. Reynolds and ITG Brands LLC, dated April 25, warning that the packaging and promotional materials for nine reformulated versions of Camel, Newport, and Kool cigarettes were likely against the law.
California’s ban includes menthol-flavored cigarettes, and the state said it determined after a review that the products are “presumptively flavored under the California flavor ban law.” It gave the companies until June 23 to respond.
The federal government last year announced plans to ban menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars, and tobacco companies’ response to the California law has been seen as a preview of how they would handle a national ban. Rhode Island, New Jersey, New York, and Massachusetts also ban flavored tobacco, which a 2021 survey by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found was favored by young smokers. The mint flavor in menthol cigarettes has a cooling effect that can blunt harsh cigarette smoke, making it easier to start smoking.
R.J. Reynolds, which produces the seven Camel and Newport varieties challenged by the state, said Thursday that its cigarettes comply with the law and that it will work with the attorney general’s office to make sure they can still be sold in California.
The cigarettes “do not impart a distinguishable taste or aroma other than tobacco,” the company said. “We market these products to clearly indicate that they are non-menthol.”
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