Media Contact:
Megan Manning
manningm@ash.org
Tobacco Endgame Insurance policies Work and Do Not Hurt the Financial system
Assertion from Laurent Huber, Government Director of Motion on Smoking and Well being
February 3, 2026
Legal guidelines prohibiting the sale of business tobacco merchandise in Beverly Hills and Manhattan Seashore, California have been in place for simply over 5 years. That’s sufficient time for researchers to attract some conclusions on their impression.
Researchers from the College of California-San Francisco, the California Division of Public Well being and Boston College College of Public Well being lately printed their findings after a multi-year research on the impression of the endgame legal guidelines within the two cities. Their conclusions surpass the expectations of even probably the most optimistic public well being advocates and nullify the doom-and-gloom predictions of the tobacco trade.
After implementing their gross sales bans in January 2021, each cities achieved nearly zero tobacco gross sales inside months of implementation. That is unsurprising, because it turned unlawful to take action. However knowledge confirmed that it didn’t result in a decline in gross sales of non-tobacco merchandise at retailers which formally bought them. This refutes one of many predominant arguments of tobacco trade opponents – that individuals who purchase cigarettes together with different merchandise like gasoline or milk will take all of their enterprise elsewhere. It didn’t occur.
What’s extra, general tobacco gross sales didn’t enhance in neighboring jurisdictions, one other trade prediction. You will need to keep in mind that these are each small cities surrounded by different jurisdictions missing tobacco gross sales bans. This means that implementing tobacco gross sales bans in broader geographical areas might be not less than as profitable.
The concept of ending tobacco gross sales, reasonably than minimizing them, is now not wishful considering – it’s an efficient coverage being applied.
As Professor Justin White of Boston College College of Public Well being, one of many authors, mentioned: “These two metropolis insurance policies did precisely what they have been designed to do.”
ASH was happy to assist the passage of those ground-breaking legal guidelines, in addition to the 28 subsequent profitable endgame campaigns. It’s time to place an finish to the tobacco epidemic. We all know the best way to do it, and we all know it really works.
