Research Abstract｜Months After Flavored Tobacco Ban, More Than Half of Vape Shops in California Remain Noncompliant

ecently, the BMJ Group’s authoritative journal Tobacco Control published an article entitled Early assessment of compliance with California’s flavoured tobacco sales prohibition: evidence from vape shops. The study, authored by Arzoo Alam, Lisa Henriksen, Trent O. Johnson, Judith J. Prochaska, and Nina Schleicher, was officially published online in April 2025.

The research focused on California’s flavored tobacco and nicotine product sales ban (SB 793), which took effect on December 21, 2022. California is the second U.S. state after Massachusetts to implement a comprehensive prohibition on flavored tobacco sales. The study aimed to assess compliance in the early months following the ban, particularly whether vape shops continued to illegally sell flavored products.

Between April and July 2023, field observations were conducted at 400 vape shops in California, selected from a 2019 sample of retailers confirmed to still be operating. Researchers documented the actual availability of disposable nicotine e-cigarettes, JUUL pods, and their flavored versions (limited to in-stock items). Shops were grouped by proximity to university campuses (≤3 miles vs. >3 miles) and by community demographics (race, income, proportion of young residents). Logistic regression analysis was used to examine associations between flavored product sales and geographic or demographic characteristics.

Key Findings

High noncompliance rate

• 50.3% of vape shops continued to sell flavored disposable e-cigarettes or JUUL pods.
• Among shops selling disposable e-cigarettes, 53.2% offered flavored versions.
• Among shops selling JUUL pods, 30.9% offered flavored versions.

No significant correlation with campus proximity or demographics

• Shops near universities (≤3 miles) had a 48.7% violation rate, compared with 51.7% for those farther away (>3 miles), with no significant difference.
• No statistically significant differences were observed across communities with different population densities, proportions of residents under 21, racial/ethnic composition (White vs. Black/Hispanic), or income levels.

Possible reasons for violations

• Retailers clearing inventory immediately after the ban.
• Lack of awareness or understanding of the law.
• Weak enforcement, with fines (USD 250) too low to act as a deterrent.

Conclusions and Recommendations

Limited early impact: Four to seven months after the law took effect, the violation rate remained around 50%, with no evidence of improvement over time.

Need for stronger enforcement: Recommendations include increasing fine amounts and implementing license revocation. California enacted AB 935 in January 2024, providing for license revocation after three violations and authorizing public health departments to directly participate in enforcement.

Education and outreach: Experiences in San Francisco and Minneapolis demonstrate that face-to-face education and regular inspections can significantly improve compliance.

In summary, the study concluded that California’s flavored tobacco ban faced serious enforcement challenges in its early phase. To achieve real effectiveness, stricter enforcement, stronger penalties, and broader retailer education are required.

Study Limitations

• Focused only on vape shops, excluding other tobacco retailers.
• Did not systematically investigate “concept flavors” (products with vague names to evade the ban), potentially underestimating violation rates.
• Did not use “purchase testing,” so some covert sales may not have been captured.

Article Information

Title

Early assessment of compliance with California’s flavoured tobacco sales prohibition: evidence from vape shops

Authors

Arzoo Alam, Lisa Henriksen, Trent O. Johnson, Judith J. Prochaska, Nina Schleicher

Corresponding Author (Author note)

Arzoo Alam, MPH

Stanford University School of Medicine, Prevention Research Center

3180 Porter Drive, Palo Alto, CA, USA

Email: arzoo.alam@stanford.edu

Publication Date

April 2025

Journal

Tobacco Control (BMJ Publishing Group)