San Diego, California Officially Bans Flavored Vapes
Credit: Zach
Now it’s official. The San Diego City Council passed an ordinance Tuesday that bans the sale of flavored vaping and other tobacco products — including menthol — in the city, effective Jan. 1, 2023.
The ban follows similar actions in California cities such as Imperial Beach, Encinitas and Solana Beach, along with San Diego County for unincorporated areas.
It also comes months before a statewide referendum tackling the issue in November, according to the Times of San Diego.
The council passed the first reading of the issue in April. This second vote makes the ordinance — known as the Stop Adolescent Addiction From E-Cigarettes or SAAFE Act — law.
The ordinance does not apply to the sale of shisha, premium cigars or loose-leaf tobacco and unflavored or tobacco-flavored e-cigarettes, as well as FDA-approved cessation devices that will also be exempt from the ban.
In opposition to the law at the lengthy public hearing in April were dozens of small business owners, who claimed flavored tobacco made up anywhere from 25 percent to nearly half of their business.
