Abstract

Seeking to escape the prohibition of menthol cigarettes from the California market, two transnational tobacco companies (RJ Reynolds, ITG Brands) introduced “non-menthol” cigarettes containing cooling agents, which they marketed as menthol substitutes. These companies claim that their newly introduced products are legal in that cooling agents do not constitute a “characterizing flavor.” This analysis demonstrates that, under California law, the newly introduced “non-menthol” cigarettes deliver a characterizing flavor, and thus are illegal to sell in California.