Tag: California

Flavor Restrictions Cause Spike in Online Vape Sales

Photo: Ngampol
Eric Leas
Online shopping for cigarettes and vaping products increased significantly in the weeks following the implementation of a 2022 California law prohibiting the sale of flavored tobacco products.
Reporting in Tobacco Control, researchers at the Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health and Human Longevity Science at University of California San Diego assessed the impact of California’s statewide flavor restriction on online shopping behavior among consumers. Comparing observed rates of shopping queries with expected rates, researchers discovered that shopping queries were 194 percent higher than expected for cigarettes and 162 percent higher than expected for vape products.
“Retailer licensing programs have proven to be effective in enforcing tobacco control laws. However, the exclusion of e-commerce retailers from these programs can undermine their impact,” said principal investigator Eric Leas in a statement.
Despite the flavor restriction, analysis of the first 60 websites returned in the search queries presented at least two online retailers offered access to flavored vaping products or menthol cigarettes to consumers in California—with one query returning as many as 36 websites (60 percent of the search results).
The study authors recommend strengthening regulations to include e-commerce retailers within the scope of retailer licensing programs.
November 8, 2023
California Cops Seize $189,000 in Illegal Vaping Products

Credit: Sundry Photography
In the California city of San Mateo law enforcement officials seized a large number of flavored vape cartridges from a smoke shop following an unscheduled compliance check.
Officers visited the store on Tuesday afternoon, August 15th to carry out the inspection after a person was observed purchasing a flavored vaping product, according to Hoodline.
Officers with the San Mateo Police Department Youth Services Unit witnessed a store employee sell flavored tobacco to a customer, police said.
California voters passed SB793 last November, banning the sale of flavored tobacco products, including e-cigarettes, e-liquids, pods, and any other vape device.
An investigation of the store revealed 6,298 flavored vape cartridges, valued at around $189,000, according to police. The cartridges were seized, but the investigation remains ongoing.
The San Mateo Police Department is coordinating with the San Mateo County District Attorney’s Office in filing charges.
August 18, 2023
California Lawmakers Shelve Tobacco ‘Endgame’ Bill

Credit: Peter Gonzalez
Three years ago, advocates for reducing smoking and vaping in California won a major victory when they persuaded the state Legislature to adopt a ban on the sale of flavored tobacco products despite an intense industry lobbying campaign.
But in recent months, those same groups have been largely silent as a first-term lawmaker sought to phase out tobacco sales in the state altogether. His proposal was shelved this week without even receiving a hearing, and he will instead pursue a bill this session to strengthen enforcement of the flavored tobacco ban, according to Jefferson Public Radio.
The decision by major anti-tobacco organizations to sit out another legislative fight reflects a broader disagreement among advocates about the best way to reach what they call the “endgame” of a tobacco-free future — and whether that should be their primary goal. Concerns over public backlash, political feasibility and potential cuts to programs funded by tobacco taxes are all factors.
“All these groups have the same goal,” to eliminate the deaths and disease caused by tobacco, said Chris Bostic, policy director for Action on Smoking and Health, one of only a handful of anti-tobacco groups to endorse the sales phaseout bill. “But people have varying opinions of how to get from here to there.”
Assembly Bill 935, introduced in February by Assemblymember Damon Connolly of San Rafael, would have taken the bold step of banning the sale of tobacco products, including cigarettes, cigars and vaping e-liquid, to anyone born on or after Jan. 1, 2007.
The legal smoking age in California is 21, so those who would have been affected by the measure aren’t able to buy tobacco from retailers for at least five more years anyway. But the proposal would have had the effect of creating a whole generation of Californians prohibited from ever legally purchasing tobacco products, with the goal of making it more difficult for them to start smoking or vaping.
It’s an idea that remains on the cutting edge globally. New Zealand became the first country to adopt the approach in December, banning the sale of smoked tobacco products such as cigarettes for anyone born after 2008. The Massachusetts town of Brookline passed a more expansive ban on tobacco products, including vapes, in 2020, which faced a legal challenge from retailers and was upheld in court last year.
Lawmakers in Hawaii and Nevada also introduced sales phaseout proposals this year, but neither measure has received a hearing yet either.
April 15, 2023
Court Rejects Challenge to California’s Flavor Ban

Photo: mehaniq41
A U.S. federal judge has thrown out a tobacco industry lawsuit against California’s statewide ban on the sale of flavored vaping and other tobacco products, reports Law360.
On March 15, Judge Cathy Ann Bencivengo rejected the plaintiffs’ claim that the measure would unfairly discriminate against out-of-state businesses. Bencivengo argued that the contested law applies to sales only; manufacturers are still permitted to manufacture flavored tobacco products in California. Most manufacturers of flavored tobacco products are located outside California.
R.J. Reynolds and other tobacco companies sued California after voters approved the ban in a November referendum, claiming the law violates the federal Tobacco Control Act (TCA), as well as the U.S. Constitution’s commerce clause.
The law was originally passed by the state legislature but didn’t take effect after industry opponents gathered enough signatures to put the issue on the November ballot.
In rejecting the TCA claim, Bencivengo cited a Ninth Circuit ruling in March 2022 that upheld a Los Angeles County ban on flavored tobacco products. The tobacco industry lawsuit also doesn’t meet the standards for arguing a state law discriminates against or unduly burdens interstate commerce, she argued.
The court also rejected the tobacco companies’ claim that out-of-state manufacturers of flavored tobacco products would be forced to change their operations to the tune of “tens of billions of dollars” to comply with the law’s new standards for tobacco products, an undue burden on interstate commerce.
California’s flavor ban doesn’t set new standards for the manufacture or marketing of tobacco products that depart from federal regulations, Bencivengo said. And financial losses for the tobacco industry alone are “not excessive enough for the Court to find that the ban substantially burdens interstate commerce,” she added, citing the law’s aims to protect public health.
The TCA also gives states the authority to “opt out of the market for flavored tobacco products,” Bencivengo said in the ruling, which does not allow the tobacco companies to file an amended complaint.
March 16, 2023
Top Court Declines to Hear LA County Flavor Ban Appeal

Image: Tobacco Reporter archive
The U.S. Supreme Court on Feb. 27 declined to hear an appeal by three Reynolds American Inc. subsidiaries seeking to overturn the county of Los Angeles ban on flavored tobacco products, reports Law360.
R.J. Reynolds Vapor Co., American Snuff Co. and Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Co. had petitioned the high court in October to take another look at the case after the full 9th Circuit upheld a lower court’s dismissal of the suit.
The RAI companies said the 9th Circuit had twice before erred in allowing sales bans at the state and local level that were preempted by federal law.
While the federal Tobacco Control Act grants state and local municipalities broad authority to regulate the sale of tobacco products, it does not allow them to completely prohibit the sale of those products for failing to meet state or local tobacco product standards, the companies argued.
In dismissing their initial suit, District Judge Dale S. Fischer in 2021 found that the ban doesn’t regulate tobacco product standards. The judge said the ordinance is protected by the federal law’s preservation clause, which allows states and localities to prohibit the sale of tobacco products even if those bans are stricter than federal law.
The companies appealed, calling the ban unconstitutional and saying state and local governments can’t bar the sale of tobacco products because they disagree with federal tobacco standards.
L.A. County countered that the ban doesn’t pose an obstacle to federal policy since the FDA announced it intends to ban menthol cigarettes and all flavored cigars.
February 28, 2023
California Lawmaker Brings Tobacco ‘Endgame’ Bill

Credit: Niro World
A California legislator has introduced a bill to ban vaping and other tobacco products from being purchased by anyone born after January 1, 2007. If enacted, it would mean that eventually no one in California would be legally allowed to buy any form of tobacco product, including cigars, snus and vapes.
Assembly Bill 935, a phased ban introduced on February 14 by assembly member Damon Connolly, would mean that anyone in California who is presently 16 years old or younger could never legally buy a tobacco product in that state. Penalties would be up to $6,000 for repeat offenders and include a tobacco license loss, reports Davis Savona of Cigar Aficionado.
Connolly, an attorney, has also served as Vice-Mayor of San Rafael, among other positions.
There is precedent for such legislation, but not in the United States. This move would mimic a New Zealand law that has banned tobacco sales to anyone born in or after 2009.
February 16, 2023
California: West Hollywood Apartment Vape Ban to Begin
Credit: Walter Cicchetti
Renters West Hollywood (WeHo), California, will soon be banned from using e-cigarettes inside their apartment. The ordinance also includes the patio or balcony.
A new section of the WeHo municipal code goes into effect Jan. 1 that prohibits smoking in “existing units” in multi-family dwellings, which basically means most apartments and duplex rentals.
The city defines “smoking” as cigarettes, cannabis and tobacco vapes, and other products made from tobacco and/or nicotine, such as heat-not-burn products and hookah, according to media reports.
Those caught breaking the new rule are subject to a fine ranging from $100 to $500. However, violations can not be grounds for eviction or imprisonment.
Using cannabis vapes remains legal if for medical purposes. “The City Council further finds that, in the interest of the public health and welfare, imposing restrictions on smoking or vaping cannabis in the privacy of one’ s residence is not warranted for tenants that consume cannabis for medicinal, therapeutic or recreational purposes,” the council stated. “State law does not allow cannabis smoking in public places and prohibiting cannabis consumption in private units would not leave available safe alternatives.”
December 27, 2022
California’s Flavored Tobacco Ban Begins Today

Credit: 4kClips
California’s controversial ban on flavored tobacco begins today. A week ago, the U.S. Supreme Court blocked R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company’s contention that the new state law conflicted with federal law.
Flavored tobacco products such as e-cigarettes, menthol cigarettes, flavored cigars and more can no longer be sold in stores.
“If they wanted to ban flavored tobacco or regulate it, I feel they should have selected certain stores to be authorized to retail it. It’s saved so many lives, helped so many people get off cigarettes,” said Carlo Sharmoug, owner of Ziggy’s Smoke Shop at the corner of West Lane and Alpine Avenue in Stockton, speaking with ABC10.
Sharmoug says in his 14 years in business, his store has never once sold tobacco to a minor.
Freitas says California’s tobacco rates among teens at one point began to decline until e-cigarettes appeared.

“They started being sold in flavors like grape and cherry and gummy bear. And all of a sudden, we saw our youth tobacco rates increasing again,” said Freitas.
Smoke shops like Ziggy’s say California will lose out on millions in tax revenue and believes product will be sold on the black market. However, Frietas disagrees, saying the savings in medical treatment in California alone will be huge.
December 21, 2022
Supreme Court Paves Path for California Flavor Ban
Credit: Niro World
The Supreme Court of the United States on Monday rejected a last-minute plea from the tobacco industry and cleared the way for California to enforce a statewide ban on the sale of most flavored tobacco products, including menthol cigarettes.
The court’s action has the effect of upholding a measure passed by the Legislature in 2020, which in turn was approved by 63 percent of voters in November. It is due to take effect next week, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Washington attorney Noel Francisco, who served as U.S. solicitor general under then-President Trump, filed an emergency appeal with Justice Elena Kagan on Nov. 29, asking her and the high court to stop California’s statewide ban from taking effect.
Kagan referred the appeal led by R.J. Reynolds to the full court, which issued a brief order denying it without comment and with no dissents.
The outcome is a victory for anti-tobacco advocates who called for cracking down on e-cigarettes and eliminating youth-friendly flavors such as bubble gum, cotton candy and cherry.
California joins Massachusetts and New York in prohibiting the sale of flavored tobacco.
December 12, 2022
RJ Reynolds Asks SCOTUS to Stop California Flavor Ban

Credit: Sean Pavone Photo
R.J. Reynolds and other vaping and tobacco companies filed a request Tuesday asking the Supreme Court of the United States to impose an emergency order to stop California from enforcing a ban on flavored vaping and other tobacco products.
The ban was overwhelmingly approved by voters earlier this month.
First passed by the state legislature two years ago, the ban never took effect after tobacco companies gathered enough signatures to put it on the ballot, according to media reports.
However, after nearly two-thirds of voters approved of banning the sale of everything from cotton-candy flavored e-liquid to menthol cigarettes. The law is set to go into effect by Dec. 21.
Supporters of the ban say the law was necessary to put a stop to a staggering rise in teen smoking.
Several companies filed suit over filed a lawsuit against California in federal court over the state’s ban on flavored products one day after voters backed the ban in a Nov. 8 referendum. However, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday denied the company’s emergency motion to block the law pending appeal.
The companies suing California argue that the authority to ban flavored products rests in federal law. The Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act gives the FDA the authority to regulate tobacco.
In the filing, the companies said they would suffer “irreparable harm” from not being able to sell the products in one of the nation’s largest markets.
The companies argued that small retailers will face laying off employees and possibly closing. Among those filing for the order is the Neighborhood Market Association, a group of San Diego retailers that include vape shops.
November 30, 2022