US Supreme Court rejects challenge to California flavored tobacco ban

Jan 8 (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company's challenge to a voter-approved measure in California that banned flavored tobacco products in the most-populous U.S. state. The justices rejected an appeal by R.J. Reynolds, a unit of British American Tobacco (BATS.L), and other plaintiffs of a lower court's ruling holding that California's law did not conflict with a federal statute regulating tobacco products. Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom in 2020 signed into law a ban on all flavored tobacco products - including menthol cigarettes and cotton candy-flavored vaping products - in response to concerns about a rise in e-cigarette and tobacco use by teenagers.