California Vape Ban Begins January 1st, 2025

Attention adult vapers in California: Starting on January 1, 2025, you will no longer have access to any flavored vaping products, through retail or online sales.

No Crisis, Just Expanded Restrictions

The two new laws, AB 3218 and SB 1230, were not passed due to a public health crisis. It has been a half-decade since EVALI lung disease was  traced to cannabis cartridges with vitamin E acetate and now teen vaping has fallen to its lowest levels in a decade.

Vape Flavor Bans Increase Cigarette Sales

The two new laws are simply an outright prohibition on the products most popular with adult vapor consumers. The inconvenient reality is that prohibition and government enforced abstinence policies are creating a future public health crisis. Vape flavor bans increase cigarette sales.

The California vape flavor ban will not only bar the sale of flavored e-cigarettes with nicotine but expands the definition of nicotine to include nicotine analogs such as 6-methyl, meaning substitutes like Metatine in Spree Bar e-cigarettes will also be affected.

The law further empowers the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration to seize flavored tobacco and vape products during routine inspections. This new law will eliminate flavored vapes from the market at the end of the year. We recommend stocking up now.

New California Flavor Ban Laws

Here are the two new laws completely deny adults access to the flavored nicotine alternatives of their choice.

AB 3218

AB 3218 emerges as a pivotal piece of legislation banning ALL flavored nicotine and nicotine analogue vaping products in California. AB 3218 law mandates the creation of an "Unflavored Tobacco List" by the Attorney General, comprising tobacco products devoid of characterizing flavors.

Any flavor other than artificial tobacco is considered characterizing. The tobacco-industry and their expensive pod systems and combustible cigarettes will enjoy a monopoly on store shelves. Those adult vapers who choose tolerate fake tobacco vape flavors rather than being funneled back onto combustible cigarettes will end up paying far more per month. Online sales will be prohibited by law.

To feature on the Unflavored List, manufacturers must submit a legally binding declaration affirming that their products are unflavored. Any vapor product not on this list will be considered illegal, and manufacturers and distributors face substantial penalties for non-compliance.

AB 3218 extends existing restrictions to encompass online sales, thereby prohibiting the delivery and sale of flavored tobacco products, including nicotine analogs, to California residents starting January 1, 2025.

SB 1230 (Strengthen Tobacco Oversight Programs and Seize Illegal Tobacco Products Act)

SB 1230 expands state enforcement capabilities to guarantee the January 2025 vape flavor ban cannot be circumvented. It grants increased authority to seize flavored vapes, from both physical and online markets during routine tax inspections. The bill also amends the definition of nicotine and now reads: “nicotine means any form of the chemical nicotine, including any salt or complex, regardless of whether the chemical is naturally or synthetically derived, and includes nicotinic alkaloids and nicotine analogs.”

What Can Be Done?

At this point, it is clear that the concerns of small businesses and the adult consumers who use flavored vapes as an alternative to combustible cigarettes are of little concern to lawmakers, nicotine abstinence zealots, or the tobacco-industry lobbyists eager to remove any and all threats to their bottom line.

Considering the embrace of harm-reduction measures for illicit narcotics in cities like San Francisco, at the state and local level California has been aggressive in their efforts to deny adult vapers access to the products they prefer. Clearly, they have no qualms about funneling these adults back into the arms of the tobacco industry and what that looks like from a public health perspective.  

The legal system is the chief recourse, although if you vape you should make your voice heard to your local representative.

Existential threats to adult access are not new and the deadly threat they pose is consistently underestimated, despite myriad studies showing than vape flavor bans increase cigarette sales.

Consider donating to CASAA to fund court challenges to these onerous and freedom stripping laws.