SCOTUS Declines Challenge Over L.A.’s Flavored Tobacco Ban

The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear a challenge over L.A. County’s flavored tobacco ban Monday, leaving in place a 9th Circuit decision that upheld the county’s ordinance. 

The plaintiff, North Carolina-based R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, argued that only the federal government has authority to regulate tobacco products. It said the ban would do irreparable harm to businesses. The Supreme Court evidently disagreed, declining to hear the case without comment.  

In December, the Supreme Court let a similar statewide ban stay in place. The appeal of L.A. County’s ban was seen as the last great hope by tobacco companies. 

Last June, the City of Los Angeles passed its own ban on flavored tobacco products. At least 71 other municipalities in California restrict flavored tobacco sales, according to the American Nonsmokers’ Rights Foundation.