LOS ANGELES—Mayor Eric Garcetti signed into law a ban on the sale of flavored tobacco in the city, with an exception for hookah lounges that meet certain conditions, the mayor’s office said Monday.
It will go into effect in January, and it does not ban the possession or use of flavored tobacco for people over the age of 21.
In June of last year, the city council directed the city attorney to draft an ordinance to ban flavored tobacco and menthol cigarette sales in the city, but exempt hookah tobacco products at existing lounges.
The ordinance, which underwent amendments in March, passed 12-0 on June 1.
Under the ordinance, existing smoke lounges will be able to sell hookah products for on-site or off-site consumption, but the city’s 4,500 tobacco retail stores will be banned from selling flavored tobacco, including hookah tobacco.
Councilwoman Monica Rodriguez, who motioned last June to amend the original ordinance request to allow hookah products to be sold for off-site consumption, as well as on-site consumption at lounges, said she worried about the impact on small business owners, who also rely on selling hookah products for off-site activity.
That amendment, which passed last year eight votes to six, came as the city council faced demands from the National Hookah Community Association to exempt hookah from the ordinance, calling it a cultural tradition.
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously in October 2019 to adopt an ordinance banning flavored tobacco products and to call on Gov. Gavin Newsom to pass a statewide ban on vaping.
