May 10, 2018
A key element to winning public health legislation is to hold legislators accountable.
The American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network here in California has been working to do just that by urging politicans to pledge not to take money from the tobacco industry since 2014.
Now California Assemblymember Jim Cooper has welched on his promise. When pursuing his first run for state office in 2014, Cooper accepted a challenge from ACS CAN to publicly forgo campaign contributions from tobacco companies. But, on March 14, 2018, he accepted a $4,400 contribution from Philip Morris. ACS CAN contacted him and he told ACS CAN that he decided to reverse course and start accepting donations from tobacco companies.
ACS CAN is publicising this reversal in a press release, which you can read here. Good for them.
Cooper is the first candidate to rescind his commitment not to accept tobacco contributions in the four-year history of the “Snuff Tobacco Money Out of California Politics” campaign.
May 9, 2018
Yesterday I received this mailer -- they are coming just about every day now -- from RJ Reynolds arguing that voters should not support San Francisco's law prohibiting the sale of flavored cigarettes because it still allows the sale of unflavored tobacco products.
Of course, that is the point of the law. People who want tobacco would still be able to buy tobacco products, just not in the kid-friendly flavors.
At least Reynolds admits that if voters uphold the law people will not be able to buy menthol cigarettes, the main economic interest RJR, makers of Newport menthol cigarettes, is probably trying to protect. (RJR could keep selling Camel regular cigarettes under the law.)
This argument is a lot like the argument that the tobacco companies unsuccessfully made against the tobacco tax (Proposition 56) that it did not put enough money into anti-smoking activities. Voters saw through that hypocracy and overwhelmingly passed the tobacco tax, which is helping rapidly reduce smoking here in California.
May 7, 2018
Here are links to all my blog posts on San Francisco’s Proposition E, RJ Reynolds Tobacco’s effort to overturn the law ending the sale of all flavored tobacco products in San Francisco that was unanimously passed by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. This list is current as of July 20, 2018.
San Francisco tobacco product flavor ban: It’s not over yet
San Francisco strongly supports end to selling flavored tobacco products
RJ Reynolds' latest argument against Prop E: It doesn't ban the sale of all tobacco products
NPR story on Juul, flavored tobacco products and San Francisco Prop E (6 May 2018)
May 7, 2018
May 2, 2018
On May 1, RJ Reynolds "contributed" another $2.5 million in cash and $40,000 in nonmonetary contributions to its No on Prop E campaign in its effort to overturn San Francisco's law ending the sale of flavored tobacco products. This brings their total to $11,587,824.27. RJR is still footning the enire bill.
NOTE: In a previous version of this post, I incorrectly reported that the San Francisco Republican Party Central Committee contributed $6,000 to No on E. I got this backwards; No on E (RJR) paid the SF Republican Central Committee $6000 to place a No on E position in the Republican slate mailer.