The Supreme Court on Monday refused to block a California law banning flavored tobacco products, effectively clearing the way for the ban to take effect next week.

The ruling came after R.J. Reynolds, the maker of Newport menthol cigarettes, and several other tobacco companies asked the court to intervene before the ban could take effect on Dec. 21.

There were no additional comments from the justices and no noted dissents.

The ban was first passed by California's state legislature in 2020 and was stalled after tobacco companies gathered enough signatures to place the measure on the ballot.

However, as Election Day came and went, voters in California overwhelmingly supported the ban, with nearly two-thirds of voters approving the proposition.

Tobacco companies argued to the Supreme Court that individual states did not have the authority to ban tobacco products and could solely regulate them.

"They can raise the minimum purchase age, restrict sales to particular times and locations, and enforce licensing regimes," lawyers for Reynolds and several smaller companies wrote in an emergency application.

"But one thing they cannot do is completely prohibit the sale of those products for failing to meet the state's or locality's preferred tobacco product standards."

The companies also argued that banning the sale of menthol cigarettes — it makes up approximately one-third of the cigarette market in California — will significantly impact their financial capabilities.

These companies believe the power to outright ban flavored products rests solely with the Food and Drug Administration.

After Massachusetts, California will now become the second state in the nation to enact a ban prohibiting the sale of all flavored tobacco products. Several states have outlawed flavored vaping products, and it's already illegal for retailers to sell tobacco to anyone under 21.

Still, lawmakers are working to slow the growth of tobacco usage among younger people, as they believe they are being heavily marketed products detrimental to their health.

California Supreme court Ban