California voters overwhelmingly approved Prop 31 to stop flavored tobacco sales

Every time Big Tobacco hooks another generation of kids on nicotine, taxpayers will pay the price. What many voters don’t realize is that even if they don’t smoke, our state is still on the hook for billions of dollars in health care-related costs. The COVID-19 pandemic has only further highlighted the urgency for current smokers to quit. Multiple studies reveal that tobacco -related illnesses, including heart disease and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, which often result from a lifetime of smoking, are leading risk factors for acquiring COVID-19, developing more severe diseases and dying after infection.