Are Nicotine Vapes (e-cigarettes) Legal in California? (2026)

Instrument

Flavored tobacco product sales ban; Unflavored Tobacco List

Source

https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=HSC&sectionNum=104559.5.

Retrieved

2026-11-06

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Health and Safety Code Sec. 104559.5

(a)
For purposes of this section, the following definitions apply:
(1)
“Characterizing flavor” means a taste or odor, distinguishable by an ordinary consumer either prior to or during the consumption of a tobacco product, other than the taste or odor of tobacco, including, but not limited to, tastes or odors relating to any fruit, chocolate, vanilla, honey, candy, cocoa, dessert, alcoholic beverage, menthol, mint, wintergreen, herb, or spice, or a cooling sensation distinguishable by an ordinary consumer during the consumption of a tobacco product.
(2)
“Constituent” means any ingredient, substance, chemical, or compound, other than tobacco, water, or reconstituted tobacco sheet, that is added by the
				  manufacturer to a tobacco product during the processing, manufacture, or packing of the tobacco product.
(3)
"Department" means the State Department of Public Health.
(4)
“Enforcing agency” means the State Department of Public Health, another state agency, including, but not limited to, the office of the Attorney General, or a local law enforcement agency, including, but not limited to, a city attorney, district attorney, or county counsel.
(5)
"Flavored shisha tobacco product" means any shisha tobacco product that contains a constituent that imparts a characterizing flavor.
(6)
“Flavored tobacco product” means any tobacco product that contains a constituent that imparts a characterizing flavor. “Flavored tobacco product” includes any tobacco product,
				  other than looseleaf tobacco, a premium cigar, or a shisha tobacco product, that is not listed on the Unflavored Tobacco List established and maintained by the Attorney General pursuant to Section 104559.1.
(7)
“Hookah” means a type of waterpipe, used to smoke shisha or other tobacco products, with a long flexible tube for drawing aerosol through water. Components of a hookah may include heads, stems, bowls, and hoses.
(8)
“Hookah tobacco retailer” means a tobacco retailer that is engaged in the retail sale of shisha tobacco products, hookah, and hookah smoking accessories.
(9)
"Labeling" means written, printed, pictorial, or graphic matter upon a tobacco product or any of its packaging.
(10)
“Looseleaf tobacco” consists of cut or shredded pipe tobacco,
				  usually sold in pouches, excluding any tobacco product which, because of its appearance, type, packaging, or labeling, is suitable for use and likely to be offered to, or purchased by, consumers as tobacco for making cigarettes, including roll-your-own cigarettes.
(11)
"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.
(12)
"Packaging" means a pack, box, carton, or container of any kind, or, if no other container, any wrapping, including cellophane, in which a tobacco product is sold or offered for sale to a consumer.
(13)
"Premium cigar" means any cigar that is handmade, is not mass produced by use of mechanization, has a wrapper that is made entirely from
				  whole tobacco leaf, and has a wholesale price of no less than twelve dollars ($12). A premium cigar does not have a filter, tip, or nontobacco mouthpiece and is capped by hand.
(14)
"Retail location" means both of the following:
(A)
A building from which tobacco products are sold at retail.
(B)
Any vending machine, vehicle, mobile unit, booth, stand, or concession that conducts in-person sales of tobacco products directly to the public.
(15)
"Sale" or “sold” means a sale as that term is defined in Section 30006 of the Revenue and Taxation Code.
(16)
"Shisha tobacco product" means a tobacco product smoked or intended to be smoked in a hookah. "Shisha tobacco product" includes, and may be
				  referred to as, hookah tobacco, waterpipe tobacco, maassel, narghile, and argileh. "Shisha tobacco product" does not include any electronic devices, such as an electronic hookah, electronic cigarette, or electronic tobacco product.
(17)
(A)
"Tobacco product" means any of the following:
(i)
A product containing, made, or derived from tobacco or nicotine that is intended for human consumption, whether smoked, heated, chewed, absorbed, dissolved, inhaled, snorted, sniffed, or ingested by any other means, including cigarettes, cigars, little cigars, chewing tobacco, pipe tobacco, or snuff.
(ii)
An electronic device that delivers nicotine or other vaporized liquids to the person inhaling from the device, including an electronic cigarette, cigar, pipe, or hookah.
(iii)
Any component, part, or accessory of a tobacco product, whether or not sold separately.
(B)
Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), "tobacco product" does not include: (i) a nicotine replacement product approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration, or (ii) cannabis or a cannabis product, as those terms are defined in Section 26001 of the Business and Professions Code. Cannabis or a cannabis product that includes an ingredient, substance, chemical, or compound that contains or is made or derived from tobacco or nicotine is a "tobacco product" under this section.
(18)
“Tobacco product flavor enhancer” means a product designed, manufactured, produced, marketed, or sold to produce a characterizing flavor when added to a tobacco product.
(19)
“Tobacco retailer” means a person who engages in this state in the sale of tobacco products directly to the public from a retail location. “Tobacco retailer” includes a person who operates vending machines from which tobacco products are sold in this state.
(b)
(1)
A tobacco retailer, or any of the tobacco retailer’s agents or employees, shall not sell, offer for sale, or possess with the intent to sell or offer for sale, a flavored tobacco product or a tobacco product flavor enhancer.
(2)
There is a rebuttable presumption that a tobacco product is a flavored tobacco product if a manufacturer or any of the manufacturer’s agents or employees, in the course of their agency or employment, has made a statement or claim directed to consumers or to the public that the tobacco product has or produces a characterizing flavor, including, but not
				  limited to, text, color, images, or all, on the product’s labeling or packaging that are used to explicitly or implicitly communicate that the tobacco product has a characterizing flavor.
(c)
Subdivision (b) does not apply to the sale of flavored shisha tobacco products by a hookah tobacco retailer if all of the following conditions are met:
(1)
The hookah tobacco retailer has a valid license to sell tobacco products issued pursuant to Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 22971.7) of Division 8.6 of the Business and Professions Code.
(2)
The hookah tobacco retailer does not permit any person under 21 years of age to be present or enter the premises at any time.
(3)
The hookah tobacco retailer shall operate in accordance with all relevant state and local
				  laws relating to the sale of tobacco products.
(4)
If consumption of tobacco products is allowed on the premises of the hookah tobacco retailer, the hookah tobacco retailer shall operate in accordance with all state and local laws relating to the consumption of tobacco products on the premises of a tobacco retailer, including, but not limited to, Section 6404.5 of the Labor Code.
(d)
Subdivision (b) does not apply to sales of premium cigars sold in cigar lounges where products are purchased and consumed only on the premises.
(e)
Subdivision (b) does not apply to looseleaf tobacco or premium cigars.
(f)
(1)
An enforcing agency may assess civil penalties against any person or entity that violates subdivision (b) according to the
				  schedule of civil penalties prescribed in subdivision (a) of Section 22958 of the Business and Professions Code. In the case of a corporation or business with more than one retail location, the number of accumulated violations for purposes of the penalty schedule shall be determined in accordance with subdivision (h) of that section.
(2)
In addition to the civil penalties described in paragraph (1), upon the assessment of a civil penalty for the third, fourth, or fifth violation, the department, within 60 days of the date of service of the final administrative adjudication on the parties or payment of the civil penalty for an uncontested violation, shall notify the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration of the violation who shall then assess a civil penalty of two hundred fifty dollars ($250) and suspend or revoke a license issued pursuant to Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 22972) of Division 8.6 of the Business and Professions
				  Code, in accordance with the schedule listed in paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) of Section 22958 of the Business and Professions Code.
(3)
Notwithstanding paragraph (7), the civil penalty assessed pursuant to paragraph (2) shall be deposited into the Cigarette and Tobacco Products Compliance Fund and shall be made available to the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for the purposes of meeting its duties prescribed in paragraph (2).
(4)
The provisions of Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 55121) of Part 30 of Division 2 of the Revenue and Taxation Code apply with respect to the collection of the penalty imposed by the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration pursuant to paragraph (2).
(5)
The department shall, upon request, provide information
				  concerning any person or entity that has been assessed a civil penalty for violation of this section to the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration when the department has notified the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration of the violation.
(6)
Proceedings under this section shall be conducted pursuant to Section 131071, except in cases where a civil penalty is assessed by an enforcing agency other than the department, in which case proceedings shall be conducted pursuant to the procedures of that agency that are consistent with Section 131071.
(7)
Except as otherwise provided in paragraph (3), all moneys collected as civil penalties by the department or by any other state agency or department pursuant to this section shall be deposited in the Sale of Tobacco to Minors Control Account.
(g)
(1)
Primary responsibility for enforcement of this section shall be with the department. In carrying out its enforcement responsibilities, the department may conduct onsite sting inspections at tobacco retailers randomly, in response to public complaints, or at retailers where violations have previously occurred. Agents of the department, while conducting enforcement activities pursuant to this section, are peace officers and are subject to all of the powers and immunities granted to Food and Drug Section inspectors pursuant to Section 106500 in the same manner as are any Food and Drug Section inspectors of the department.
(2)
In addition to the primary enforcement responsibility assumed by the department, another enforcing agency may conduct inspections and assess penalties for violations of this section if that enforcing agency complies with the applicable provisions of this section and with all other
				  applicable provisions of law.
(3)
State and local enforcing agencies are encouraged, in order to avoid duplication, to share the results of inspections and coordinate with the department when enforcing this section.
(4)
An enforcing agency may use audio or video recording equipment when conducting inspections, to record and document illegal sales or attempted sales.
(h)
(1)
The department may adopt any regulations that it determines are necessary for the enforcement of this section. The regulations shall be adopted by the department in the manner prescribed by Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code.
(2)
The department may adopt emergency regulations to implement this
				  section. Any emergency regulation shall be adopted in accordance with Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code and shall be deemed an emergency and necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, safety, or general welfare. Emergency regulations adopted shall remain in effect until regulations have been adopted pursuant to paragraph (1).
(i)
This section does not preempt or otherwise prohibit the adoption of a local standard that imposes greater restrictions on the access to tobacco products than the restrictions imposed by this section. To the extent that there is an inconsistency between this section and a local standard that imposes greater restrictions on the access to tobacco products, the greater restriction on the access to tobacco products in the local standard shall prevail.

Health and Safety Code Sec. 104559.1

(a)
The Attorney General shall establish and maintain on the Attorney General's internet website a list of tobacco product brand styles that lack a characterizing flavor. This list shall be known as the Unflavored Tobacco List (UTL).
(b)
(1)
Every manufacturer and every importer of tobacco products shall submit to the Attorney General a list of all brand styles of tobacco products that they manufacture or import for sale or distribution in or into California that lack a characterizing flavor. The Attorney General may deem each submission to be a request that the brand style be included on the UTL. Any submission under this section shall be accompanied by a certification by the manufacturer or importer, under penalty of
					 perjury, that does all of the following:
(A)
Describes each brand style, brand, and tobacco product category. Categories shall include, but not be limited to, cigarettes, cigars, little cigars, chewing tobacco, pipe tobacco, snuff, electronic cigarettes, electronic pipes, and electronic hookahs.
(B)
Describes, for each brand style, if a formal authorization, approval, or order from the United States Food and Drug Administration under Section 387e(j) or 387j of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA) (21 U.S.C. Sec. 301 et seq.) has been sought and, if so, the status of any request for that authorization, approval, or order.
(C)
Certifies that each brand style lacks a characterizing flavor.
(2)
(A)
Upon the request of the
					 Attorney General, a manufacturer or importer shall provide additional information and factual substantiation regarding a brand style's lack of characterizing flavor.
(B)
Information submitted to the Attorney General by a manufacturer or importer pursuant to this paragraph shall be considered confidential and corporate proprietary information. This information shall not be subject to disclosure under the California Public Records Act (Division 10 (commencing with Section 7920.000) of Title 1 of the Government Code).
(3)
(A)
Upon the request of the Attorney General, a manufacturer or importer shall provide additional information and documentation regarding tobacco product status, packaging, or marketing of a brand style.
(B)
Information submitted to the Attorney General by a manufacturer or
					 importer pursuant to this paragraph and designated as nonpublic shall be considered confidential and corporate proprietary information. This information shall not be subject to disclosure under the California Public Records Act (Division 10 (commencing with Section 7920.000) of Title 1 of the Government Code).
(c)
In determining whether or not a brand style has a characterizing flavor the Attorney General shall consider, among other factors, information received from the manufacturer or importer to the Attorney General regarding the brand style.
(d)
The Attorney General shall presume a brand style to have a characterizing flavor if the manufacturer or importer, or any employee or agent of the manufacturer or importer, in the course of their employment by the agency, has made a statement or claim directed to consumers or to the public that the tobacco product has or produces a
					 characterizing flavor, including, but not limited to, any text, color, or images on the product’s labeling or packaging, that explicitly or implicitly communicates that the tobacco product has a characterizing flavor. This presumption may be rebutted by the manufacturer or importer.
(e)
The Attorney General shall decline to include on the UTL any brand style that the Attorney General reasonably determines has a characterizing flavor. The Attorney General may decline to include on the UTL any brand style that is adulterated as defined in Section 387b of or misbranded as defined in Section 387c of the FFDCA or that is otherwise required to obtain and has not received a formal authorization, approval, or order under Section 387e(j) or 387j of the FFDCA.
(f)
(1)
The Attorney General shall remove from the UTL any brand style that the Attorney General determines
					 has a characterizing flavor. The Attorney General may remove from the UTL any brand style that the Attorney General determines is adulterated as defined in Section 387b of or misbranded as defined in Section 387c of the FFDCA or that is required to obtain and has not received a formal authorization, approval, or order under Section 387e(j) or 387j of the FFDCA.
(2)
(A)
The Attorney General shall promptly provide the manufacturer or importer that submitted a certification regarding a brand style with written notice when the Attorney General removes it from the UTL. This notice shall include the basis for the Attorney General's determination.
(B)
Removal of a brand style from the UTL will be effective 30 days after the manufacturer or importer is given notice pursuant to subparagraph (A).
(C)
A
					 manufacturer or importer may provide additional materials that the manufacturer or importer deems relevant to the determination described in paragraph (1) within 30 days of the notice provided pursuant to subparagraph (A).
(D)
Information submitted to the Attorney General by a manufacturer or importer pursuant to this paragraph shall be considered confidential and corporate proprietary information. This information shall not be subject to disclosure under the California Public Records Act (Division 10 (commencing with Section 7920.000) of Title 1 of the Government Code).
(g)
Any brand style not on the UTL shall be deemed a flavored tobacco product under subdivision (b) of Section 104559.5.
(h)
Every manufacturer and every importer that has made a submission under this section shall submit updated information to the
					 Attorney General whenever it no longer manufactures or imports for sale or distribution in or into the state a brand style listed on the UTL or when the brand style it manufactures or imports no longer lacks a characterizing flavor. This updated information shall be provided to the Attorney General by the manufacturer or importer prior to or on the date upon which the manufacture or importation of the brand style ceases, or prior to or on the date upon which the brand style no longer lacks a characterizing flavor.
(i)
Every manufacturer or importer that submits a brand style pursuant to this section shall also do all of the following:
(1)
Consent to the jurisdiction of the California courts for the purpose of enforcement of this section and for enforcement of regulations adopted pursuant to this section.
(2)
Appoint
					 a registered agent for service of process in this state.
(3)
Identify the registered agent to the Attorney General.
(4)
Waive any sovereign immunity defense that may apply in an action to enforce this section or to enforce regulations adopted pursuant to this section.
(j)
The Attorney General may require a manufacturer or importer of tobacco products that are sold or distributed in or into California, whether directly or indirectly through a distributor, wholesaler, or retailer, to submit to the Attorney General a list of all brand styles of tobacco products that they manufacture or import.
(k)
(1)
Every manufacturer and importer submission under paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) shall be accompanied by an initial application fee of
					 up to one thousand dollars ($1,000) per brand style, not to exceed the reasonable costs of processing the submissions and operating the UTL, to offset the costs incurred by the Attorney General for processing the submissions and operating the UTL. The Attorney General shall collect an annual renewal fee of up to one thousand dollars ($1,000) per brand style, not to exceed the reasonable costs of maintaining the UTL, to offset the costs associated with operating the UTL. The fee shall be for the fiscal year ending June 30 and shall not be prorated.
(2)
Application and renewal fees received under this subdivision shall be deposited into the California Unflavored Tobacco List Fund, which is hereby created in the State Treasury. Notwithstanding Section 13340 of the Government Code, all amounts deposited into the California Unflavored Tobacco List Fund are hereby continuously appropriated without regard to fiscal year to the office of the Attorney
					 General for the purpose of processing the submissions and operating the UTL.
(l)
(1)
Upon receiving notice from the Attorney General that a brand style is either removed from the UTL or that the Attorney General declines to include it on the list, the manufacturer or importer that provided the certification to the Attorney General that the brand style lacks a characterizing flavor may challenge the Attorney General's determination as erroneous, seek to rebut any presumption relied upon by the Attorney General, and seek relief from the determination, by filing a writ of mandate pursuant to Section 1085 of the Code of Civil Procedure in the Superior Court of the County of Sacramento, or as otherwise provided by law. The filing of the petition shall not operate to stay the Attorney General's determination except upon a ruling of a court of competent jurisdiction.
(2)
A manufacturer or importer may challenge a decision by the Attorney General pursuant to paragraph (1) in addition to providing additional materials to the Attorney General pursuant to subdivision (f).
(m)
The Attorney General shall publish the UTL beginning on or before December 31, 2025.
(n)
The Attorney General may seek injunctive relief and a civil penalty not to exceed fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) and recover reasonable attorney's fees, investigation costs, and expert fees against an entity or individual that certifies to the Attorney General that a brand style lacks a characterizing flavor when the certifying entity or individual had no reasonable basis to believe the certification was true.
(o)
(1)
Except as provided in paragraph (2), a distributor or wholesaler shall
					 not sell any tobacco product not appearing on the UTL or any tobacco product flavor enhancer to any retailer, wholesaler, or other person for sale in California. A delivery seller shall not sell a tobacco product not appearing on the UTL or a tobacco product flavor enhancer to a consumer in California.
(2)
This subdivision does not apply to the sale of tobacco products by a distributor or wholesaler to a retailer, wholesaler, distributor, or any other person that the state, pursuant to the United States Constitution, the laws of the United States, or the California Constitution, is prohibited from regulating.
(3)
For each tobacco product or tobacco product flavor enhancer sold in violation of this subdivision, the Attorney General may assess civil penalties against the distributor, wholesaler, or delivery seller according to the following schedule:
(A)
A civil penalty of not more than two thousand dollars ($2,000) for the first violation.
(B)
A civil penalty of not more than three thousand five hundred dollars ($3,500) for the second violation within a five-year period.
(C)
A civil penalty of not more than five thousand dollars ($5,000) for the third violation within a five-year period.
(D)
A civil penalty of not more than six thousand five hundred dollars ($6,500) for the fourth violation within a five-year period.
(E)
A civil penalty of not more than ten thousand dollars ($10,000) for a fifth or subsequent violation within a five-year period.
(p)
Whenever the Attorney
					 General prevails in a civil action to enforce this section, the court shall award to the Attorney General all costs of investigating and prosecuting the action, including expert fees, reasonable attorney's fees, and costs. Awards under this section shall be paid to the Public Rights Law Enforcement Special Fund established pursuant to Section 12530 of the Government Code.
(q)
The Attorney General may adopt those rules and regulations the Attorney General deems necessary to implement the purposes of this section, including regulations further delineating tobacco product status and characterizing flavor determinations, requiring reporting of delivery sales of tobacco products and constitutionally exempted distributions of flavored tobacco products, and adopting an administrative process for the imposition of civil penalties. The regulations adopted to implement this section are emergency regulations in accordance with Chapter 3.5 (commencing with
					 Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code and shall be considered by the Office of Administrative Law to be necessary for the immediate preservation of the public health, safety, and welfare.
(r)
This section does not preempt or otherwise prohibit the adoption of a local ordinance that is more restrictive than this section, that references or incorporates the UTL, or that imposes standards or definitions for a characterizing flavor that are more restrictive than those in this section.
(s)
For the purposes of this section, the following definitions apply:
(1)
"Brand style" means a style of tobacco product within a brand that is differentiated from other styles of that brand by weight, volume, size, Universal Product Code, Stock Keeping Unit, nicotine content, characterizing flavor, logo,
					 symbol, motto, labeling, marketing, materials, packaging, or other indicia of product identification.
(2)
“Characterizing flavor” has the same meaning as in Section 104559.5.
(3)
"Tobacco product" means a tobacco product as defined in Section 104559.5, but excludes looseleaf tobacco, premium cigars, and shisha tobacco products, as those terms are defined in that section.
(4)
“Tobacco product flavor enhancer” has the same meaning as defined in Section 104559.5.
(5)
"UTL" means the Unflavored Tobacco List described in subdivision (a).
(t)
The provisions of this section are severable. If any provision of this section or its application is held invalid, that invalidity shall not
					 affect other provisions or applications that can be given effect without the invalid provision or application.