Alternative tobacco and nicotine products in California
Business briefing
Industry news, specifically focusing on business-related stories
Regulatory reports
Detailed legal reports outlining industry regulation, analysis of the laws, and pertinent organisations
Regulatory data
Our full regulatory tracking databases including tax, proposed bills, etc.
NEW FORMAT
From February of 2022, subscribers will be able to view and filter individual regulatory alerts per region. If you want to get our monthly compilations, visit our alerts Round-up section.
Alerts
Our legal experts track the evolving regulation around the tobacco alternatives sector on a daily basis. These alerts are then compiled into our Monthly Round-up section.
1st July 2022
US - California: San Jose’s ban on flavoured tobacco becomes effective today, 1st July, prohibiting the sale of any tobacco products and e-cigarettes with an artificial flavour, natural flavour, aroma, herb or spice, including menthol-flavoured products. The ban exempts shisha, hookah and premium cigars from the restrictions. San Jose is the most populated city in the San Francisco metropolitan area, which means that the ban could affect around 1m people.3rd June 2022
- US - California: The Los Angeles City Council voted an overwhelming 12 to 0 to pass an ordinance to prohibit the sale of flavoured tobacco in the city, including all flavours except tobacco – with an exception for shisha tobacco at hookah lounges. The ordinance moves to the mayor’s desk for consideration to be signed into law and would become effective on 1st January 2023. The interim president, Mitch O'Farrell, made a heart-felt speech about tobacco policies after the voting, stating that everyone listening surely had someone who had been affected by tobacco or nicotine. He emphasised that the bill doesn't ban the possession or use of flavoured tobacco for people over 21, as their aim is to protect the youth from such policies.
20th May 2022
- US - California: The Scotts Valley City Council passed an ordinance on Wednesday 18th May with a favourable vote of 5-0, local media reports. The ordinance would ban the sale of flavoured tobacco products in the city, and also prohibit smoking or vaping in any designated seating areas of restaurants or outdoor eating establishments. We see yet another locality enact a flavour ban, while the referendum at state level to enact the state-wide flavour ban is still pending. Scotts Valley City is within the Santa Cruz county and has a population of around 12,000.
18th May 2022
- US - California: The San Diego Council passed an ordinance (the SAAFE Act) yesterday, which will ban the sale of all flavoured tobacco products (including menthol) in the city starting 1st January 2023, local media reports. The ordinance does not apply to the sale of shisha, premium cigars or loose-leaf tobacco and unflavoured or tobacco-flavoured e-cigarettes. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved cessation devices will also be exempt from the ban.
17th May 2022
- US - California: Assembly Bill (AB) 1690 has been ordered to the inactive file, meaning that the bill is ready to be heard on the floor but for some reason is dormant; an author of the bill may move it off the inactive file at a later date. AB 1690 would prohibit a person or entity from selling, giving, or furnishing to another person of any age in this state a cigarette utilising a single-use filter made of any material, a single-use plastic device meant to facilitate manual manipulation or filtration of a cigar, a single-use e-cigarette, or a single-use integrated cannabis vaporiser.
9th May 2022
- US - California: The El Dorado County Office of Education recently hosted a student training day for the Tobacco-Use Prevention Education (TUPE) Program, which included students from El Dorado, Independence, Union Mine, and Black Oak Mine Unified School District, local media reports. The purpose of the TUPE Program is to reduce youth usage of tobacco products through tobacco-specific educational instruction and activities that build knowledge as well as social skills and youth development assets. Melissa Kistler, director of District and Program Support and TUPE liaison emphasised the fact that the “training is unique because it is the first time we have cross collaboration between school districts in this county”.
26th April 2022
California: San Diego City Council voted 7-2 at a special meeting yesterday to approve the SAAFE (Stop Adolescent Addiction to Flavored E-cigarettes) Act, which would prohibit the sale of all flavoured tobacco products in the city, local media reports. The issue will come before the council again in 30 days.
25th April 2022
US - California: On today’s agenda for San Diego City Council was Item 600, the approval of the SAAFE (Stop Adolescent Addiction to Flavored E-cigarettes) Act, which would prohibit the sale of flavoured tobacco products in the city. If passed, the ban will include all flavours but for tobacco from 1st January 2023.
4th March 2022
- US - California: At its latest meeting, the Monterey County Board of Supervisors approved the first reading of an ordinance to ban sales of single-use e-cigarettes and flavoured tobacco products of any flavour other than tobacco. The ban would include all products containing tobacco leaves and any product containing nicotine. The second vote is set for 15th March.
