La Verne Bans Flavored Tobacco Products

LA VERNE, CA — Flavored tobacco products are on their way out in La Verne after the City Council unanimously passed an ordinance on July 19, banning their sale within the city.

Tobacco products that come in sweet flavors like mint, fruit, chocolate and vanilla will be banned in the city beginning January 2022, according to the ordinance. Vape pens and other devices used to consume flavored tobaccos are also banned as part of the ordinance.

However, flavored tobacco products used in hookah and menthol cigarettes are exempted from the ban.

City leaders enacted the ban at the urging of the La Verne Youth and Family Action committee, city officials said. The committee is made up of residents, Bonita Unified employees, law enforcement personnel and members of local nonprofits.

Flavored tobacco products specifically targeted children because of their packaging and sweet flavors, the group said in a letter to the City Council.

“Flavored tobacco products are a gateway for many youth and young adults to become regular smokers because flavors disguise the harshness of tobacco and make smoking seem less harmful,” the group said.

Smoking and vaping have become an “epidemic among young people throughout the country” that has only worsened during the pandemic, Mayor Tim Hepburn said in a statement.

“The coronavirus pandemic has only further revealed the negative impact of using such products, especially at a young age, when their bodies should be more able to fight off infections, but smoking youths were left more vulnerable to COVID-19,” Hepburn said. “We are proud to pass this ordinance to protect our community’s children.”

The California legislature passed a bill in 2020 that banned flavored tobacco products, but that was put on hold so that the issue could be before voters in 2022.

However, cities across California have begun enacting their own bans ahead of the statewide referendum. La Verne joins a growing list of municipalities that include Culver City, Long Beach and Los Angeles.

Not everyone was happy with La Verne's ban. Salem Abudd, the owner of a local smoke shop, told the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin that bans like La Verne's endangers the livelihood of businesses like his and don’t really address the issue of youth smoking. He said anyone could go to a neighboring city instead if they wanted to get a flavored tobacco product.

“No way any smoke business can stay in business with this ban,” Abudd told the paper. “I’ve been here since 2003. Never had any problems and now you put the blame on us — it’s not right.