California’s governor has signed into law a bill that prohibits the sale of most flavored tobacco products – including e-cigarette vaping cartridges – at retail stores starting Jan. 1, 2021.

State Bill 793 makes it illegal for California retailers to sell flavored tobacco products or tobacco product flavor enhancers, such as those meant to mimic the taste or aroma of fruits, chocolate or vanilla, candy, “dessert,” menthol or mint and herbs or spices, among others. Violations of the law will be punishable by a $250 fine.

Shisha tobacco, the kind used in hookahs, loose-leaf pipe tobacco and premium cigars costing $12 or more are exempted from the new law. Online sales of flavored vape pods and other tobacco products are also not affected by the new California flavored vape ban and the bill does not outlaw the personal possession of flavored vape pods and other flavored tobacco products.

Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the bill, developed by State Senator Jerry Hill, just hours after the Senate passed the measure unanimously August 28. The State Assembly voted 58-1 in favor of the bill days earlier.

Origins of California’s Flavored Vape Ban

Hill called the new legislation “a huge win for our kids and the health of our communities throughout California,” given the increasing numbers of teenagers who have taken up the habit of vaping, particularly because of the flavored vape pods.

One of the reports Hill often cited in support of the new flavored vape ban is a study put out by the California Department of Public Health in 2019 that said, “more than 5 million youth used e-cigarettes in 2019, and that more than 80% began doing so because of flavored products.”

Hill has also argued that flavored tobacco products are often a “gateway” to dangerous nicotine use in teens.

The new flavored vape ban, Hill said, “will save lives.”

Tobacco-industry groups and lobbyists opposed the measure and urged vape users to urge their representatives to resist it, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

Gov. Newsom tweeted from his official Twitter account after signing the bill that the new flavored vape ban “is a victory for public health.”

Other Flavored Vape Bans

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration enacted its own partial flavored vape ban earlier this year, aimed at e-cigarettes that use pre-filled one-time-use pods. The ban prevents the sales of vape pods featuring sweet, fruity and mint flavors – not menthol or tobacco flavored ones – most often found at convenience stores and vape shops.

Administration officials have said the ban is aimed at reducing the prevalence of teenage vaping. Federal health officials and agencies have been sounding the alarm about the potential dangers of vaping and avalanche of teenagers taking up the habit – so much so the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has called it an epidemic.

The federal ban does not apply to “open-tank systems and thousands of flavored e-liquids not in pod form — products commonly found in vape shops and in some convenience stores,” the Washington Post reported. “Disposable e-cigarettes, including the popular Puff Bar brand that comes in flavors such as strawberry, cool mint and mango,” are also exempted.

Meanwhile, other states are also taking similar action.

Oregon state officials are considering, for the second time in a year, a ban on flavored THC vape oil products that contain non-cannabis additives. The Oregon Liquor Control Commission, which regulates the state’s marijuana industry, announced the move at its June 18 meeting. A previous temporary ban, issued through an executive order by Governor Kate Brown in October, was overturned by a state appeals court after several businesses filed legal challenges.

Gov. Brown and the Oregon Liquor Control Commission said a rash of vaping-related lung injuries in the fall of 2019 prompted them to consider the flavored vape ban again.

Between the fall of 2019 and spring of 2020, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention counted more than 2,800 cases of people being hospitalized for serious vaping-related respiratory illnesses, 68 of whom died.

Coalition Advocated for Flavored Vape Ban

A coalition of public health organizations, state lawmakers and anti-tobacco groups supported a campaign called California Fights Flavors to lobby in favor of the passage of State Bill 793’s flavored vape ban. The campaign’s website lists the American Lung Association, American Heart Association, Tobacco-Free Kids Action Fund and dozens of others as supporting its efforts.

“The time is now to end the youth e-cigarette epidemic by prohibiting the sale of all flavored tobacco products,” the campaign’s site says. “All of these flavored products are undermining the nation’s overall efforts to reduce youth tobacco use and putting a new generation of kids at risk of nicotine addiction and the serious health harms that result from tobacco use.”

In addition to the ban on flavored vape pods, the new law addresses what California Fights Flavors called the “long-standing” problem caused by menthol cigarettes and cigarillos. In banning those retail sales as well, State Bill 793 will even further help to reduce smoking.