Tobacco Flavor Ban Referendum Initiative Senate Bill 793

Senate Bill 793 (“SB 793”) which bans the sale of flavored tobacco products, including traditional products and vapor products, has been enacted by the California legislature and signed by Governor Newsom. The bill expressly prohibits the sale of menthol, mint, and wintergreen products, and excludes only premium cigars, pipe tobacco, and certain shisha products. The law is currently scheduled to go into effect ton January 1, 2021.

The California Coalition for Fairness (CCFF), an organized effort funded by R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company and Philip Morris USA, is currently collecting signatures from CA registered voters to refer SB 793 to a vote of the people on the 2022 general election ballot. If the signature gathering efforts are successful, the implementation of the flavored tobacco ban likely would be delayed until November 2022, when voters would decide whether to repeal the law.

In order to qualify for the ballot, the referendum will need to gather 5 percent of the total number of votes cast in the last gubernatorial election (2018), which equates to 623,212 signatures from registered voters in California. The deadline to submit the required signatures is November 30, 2020. This is a major undertaking and signature gatherers will be crisscrossing the state.

WHAT CAN YOU DO TO HELP?

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4. Do NOT try to gather signatures yourself and please dissuade others from trying to gather their own signatures. Valid signatures must be collected on the official petition and be witnessed by a circulator. Any individual efforts will be counterproductive to our shared goal!

Sign the petition when you encounter a CCFF circulator.

Tell your employees, friends and family to sign the CCFF petition.

Urge your customers to sign the CCFF petition when asked by CCFF circulator.

CCFF is currently arranging for opportunities to sign the petition around the state. We will be back in touch with information on signing locations near you!