California Highlights

Tobacco use remains the leading cause of preventable death and disease in the United States and in California. To address this enormous toll, the American Lung Association calls for the following actions to be taken by California's elected officials:

In 2024, California continued its progress and nationwide leadership on tobacco control in some areas, but took significant steps back in other areas. The California legislature passed two significant bills. Senate Bill 1230, (Senator Rubio) Strengthen Tobacco Oversight Programs (STOP) Act. SB 1230 authorizes the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration or any other enforcing agency, including local law enforcement, to seize prohibited flavor products from retailers and wholesalers. SB 1230 increases the penalties for retailers who sell illegal tobacco products and sell to people under the age of 21 years old.

California Governor Gavin Newsom also signed Assembly Bill 3218 into law, allowing the Attorney General to create an unflavored tobacco list (UTL). The UTL will contain only tobacco products that lack characterizing flavors. And any product that is not on the UTL would be deemed a prohibited flavored tobacco product. To get a product on the UTL, manufacturers and importers must certify to the Attorney General’s office, under penalty of perjury, that their products are unflavored.

Both AB 3218 and SB 1230 close loopholes in Senate Bill 793, California’s flavor law prohibiting the retail sale of most flavored tobacco products. The new laws aim to strengthen and streamline enforcement of prohibited flavored tobacco product sales. These bills were partially in response to the tobacco industry introducing new products that lack menthol but have a similar cooling sensation that were not covered by the flavored tobacco product law.

However, Governor Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 1775 (Assemblymember Haney), which weakened the statewide smokefree law, allowing local jurisdictions to permit cannabis consumption lounges to sell non-cannabis infused food and host live entertainment, thereby exposing workers to secondhand cannabis smoke and reversing 30 years of smokefree restaurants.

Throughout 2024, localities across the state continued their efforts to pass comprehensive flavored tobacco laws, which, in some cases, were stronger than state law. This included unincorporated Lake County Santa Rosa, Sonoma County, Emeryville, Alameda County, Burlingame, San Mateo County Clovis, and Fresno County.

Progress continued other comprehensive tobacco control measures across the state in large and rural localities. Localities also passed laws prohibiting smoking in multiunit housing, making specific outdoor locations smokefree, and reducing the number and density of tobacco retailers, continuing the positive trend in tobacco control on the local level.

In 2024, the California Department of Tobacco Control created media campaigns and worked with local partners throughout California to create smokefree environments, counter the tobacco industry's aggressive marketing practices, prevent the illegal sale of tobacco products to underage young people, and provide tobacco cessation services.

In 2025, the American Lung Association will monitor the implementation of Assembly Bill 3218, the Unflavored Tobacco law; encourage local communities to pass robust tobacco control policies and smokefree laws, including encouraging communities to not allow the smoking or vaping of cannabis in public places; promote the smoking cessation program Kick-It California; and work towards ending the tobacco epidemic in California.