California Bill Would Authorize Seizure of Flavored Tobacco Products From Store Shelves

JUUL Labs Inc. Virginia tobacco and menthol flavored vaping e-cigarette products are displayed in a convenience store in El Segundo, Calif., on June 23, 2022. (Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images)

Since January 2023, California retailers have been prohibited from selling flavored tobacco products or enhancers, and starting this year the state public health department has been charged with enforcing the ban.

A new bill wants to get even tougher.

Senate Bill 1230, introduced in February by Democratic Sen. Susan Rubio, would empower the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration to seize flavored tobacco products from store shelves and destroy them.

“As a schoolteacher, I know all too well that California students continue to have easy access to addictive e-cigarettes with flavors designed to appeal to youth,” said Ms. Rubio in an April statement.

According to the 2023 National Youth Tobacco Survey, 2.8 million middle and high school students in the United States—about 10 percent—reported using tobacco products, including e-cigarettes, which is an aerosolized delivery system for nicotine.

Nearly 4 percent of high school students in California use both tobacco products and cannabis, according to a 2024 study from The Journal of Pediatrics.

“California youth who co-use tobacco and cannabis were most likely to have absenteeism and lower grades,” the study said.

The authors recommended comprehensive efforts to prevent or reduce youth substance use to improve educational outcomes in the state.

About 480,000 people die every year from using cigarettes or from exposure to secondhand smoke, and more than 16 million Americans suffer currently from smoke-related illnesses, per data from the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids.

The organization is a leading advocacy group working to reduce tobacco use among youth in America and globally.

“This [bill] is a simple yet effective way to ensure that the law is being obeyed and kid-friendly flavors are off of shelves in California,” a spokesperson for the group said this spring in a statement.

Despite broad support from anti-tobacco groups, the bill has gained a few critics. Republican Sens. Brian Dahle, Shannon Grove, Kelly Seyarto, Roger Niello, and Brian Jones voted against the bill in May.

Mr. Dahle told The Epoch Times on July 11 that the proposed measure was “redundant.”

“Nothing is preventing state agencies and law enforcement from enforcing current law,” he said.

He suggested a better alternative would be to assess how California agencies are administering current law “and then determine if there is an actual need for the bill.”

Mr. Niello said he thought it was “a little soon to be enhancing enforcement and penalties” and would prefer to see a “more relevant” issue dealt with, such as finding out why enforcement agencies were struggling to uphold current law.

SB 1230 passed in the Senate with a vote of 31–5 in May. It will likely face an Assembly vote after the Legislature’s summer recess ends on Aug. 5.