A look at the impact of California’s tobacco and cannabis policies

A look at the impact of California’s tobacco and cannabis policies

The investigators examined the effects of California’s tobacco and cannabis policies on the availability of tobacco. Recent laws prohibit the sale of flavored tobacco and set minimum pack sizes for little cigars and cigarillos (LCCs), while increasing availability of cannabis through more permissive sales and marketing policies. The study found that the cannabis policies were not associated with an increased retail availability of tobacco products. However, flavored tobacco restrictions were associated with reduced availability of LCCs and blunt wraps; this effect was greatest in the jurisdictions with permissive cannabis policies. The authors conclude that a flavored tobacco policy can be an effective strategy to reduce availability of LCCs, blunt wraps, and possibly other forms of tobacco products in California. Read the paper.