California tobacco and nicotine laws
What California has enacted on tobacco and nicotine, what each law requires, and what the bills still moving would do. California is one of 37 states that enacted a tobacco and nicotine law in the 2025 and 2026 sessions.
167 new California laws take effect in 2027
- Bills in scope
- 8bills in scope
- Past committee
- 7past committee
- Most recent action
- 28 September 2026most recent action
Tobacco and nicotine laws enacted in California
5 tobacco and nicotine laws enacted in the California Legislature in the 2025 and 2026 sessions, newest first. Each links to the legislature's own page.
What it requires: A person shall not market, promote, label, brand, advertise, distribute, offer for sale, or sell a vape product by imitating a non-vape product to conceal its nature from parents, teachers, or other adults, or by including interactive videogame capabilities. A permanent household hazardous waste collection facility may mechanically disassemble vape pens and devices after consultation with the certified unified program agency and local fire authority.
Flavor bans and product standards, Escrow, marketing and smoke-free rules
- AB 762Disposable, battery-embedded vapor inhalation device: prohibition and penalties.Takes effect 1 January 2027
What it requires: Beginning January 1, 2027, a person shall not import or manufacture for sale in this state a new or refurbished disposable, battery-embedded vapor inhalation device. Beginning January 1, 2028, a person shall not sell, distribute, or offer for sale such a device in this state.
Flavor bans and product standards, Licensing
What it requires: Beginning January 1, 2028, retailers engaged in retail sale of cigarettes or tobacco products must prominently display lung cancer screening signage at every retail location. The State Department of Public Health must develop the signage by July 1, 2027, including eligibility criteria, effectiveness information, the Kick It California toll-free number, and a QR code.
Licensing, Escrow, marketing and smoke-free rules
What it requires: A person engaged in the business of selling cigarettes or tobacco products must not possess, store, own, or make any sale of cannabis, cannabis products, or products presumed to be cannabis at any site where cigarettes or tobacco products are stored or sold. Beginning January 1, 2028, CBN isolate is excluded from the definition of cannabis concentrate.
Licensing
What it requires: Retailers must obtain and maintain a retailer license to sell cigarettes or tobacco products. Each application for a retailer license filed on or after July 1, 2026, must be accompanied by a fee of $450 per retail location. Renewal applications filed on or after July 1, 2026, must also include a $450 fee per retail location.
Flavor bans and product standards, Licensing
Tobacco and nicotine in California, by topic
Licensing
6 bills, 4 enacted. Enacted in 18 states.
Flavor bans and product standards
3 bills, 3 enacted. Enacted in 4 states.
Escrow, marketing and smoke-free rules
2 bills, 2 enacted. Enacted in 11 states.
Minimum age and youth access
2 bills. Enacted in 13 states.
Online and delivery sales
1 bill. Enacted in 5 states.
Tobacco and nicotine bills in California
The bills not yet law, furthest along first, with what each would do.
5Enacted
2Past committee
1Introduced or inactive
8 bills in scope
Past committee
2
What it would do: Effective July 1, 2027, prohibits smoke shops from locating within 600 feet of schools or daycare centers, restricts tobacco sales to 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., and prohibits possession or sale of nitrous oxide and related paraphernalia.
What it would do: Prohibits pharmacies from engaging in retail sale of cigarettes or tobacco products. Prohibits the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration from issuing cigarette and tobacco product retailer licenses to pharmacies or for retail locations containing pharmacies.
Introduced or inactive
1
What it would do: Amends the Parent's Accountability and Child Protection Act to allow parents or legal guardians to sue online businesses for civil penalties of $35,000 to $700,000 per violation and minor user, and requires courts to suspend violators from conducting business in California for 10 days to indefinitely.
Bill titles link to the California Legislature's own page.
What counts as tobacco and nicotine legislation
In scope: Flavor bans and product standards; vapor product directories; licensing; excise taxes and stamps; minimum age and youth access; online and delivery sales; nicotine pouches and new products; and escrow, marketing and smoke-free rules.
Questions
Does California have a tobacco and nicotine law?
Yes. California enacted 5 tobacco and nicotine laws in the 2025 and 2026 sessions, among them AB 2667, AB 762 and SB 1124. Each is listed on this page with what it requires.
When do California's tobacco and nicotine laws take effect?
AB 2667 on 1 January 2027, AB 762 on 1 January 2027, SB 1124 on 1 January 2027 and AB 2250 on 1 January 2027. The others have no single date in their text.
Which tobacco and nicotine bills are moving in California?
2 bills not yet law have passed a committee or a chamber, the furthest along SB 1314 (passed chamber) and AB 957 (passed chamber).
What does California legislate on most in tobacco and nicotine?
Licensing (6 bills), Flavor bans and product standards (3 bills) and Escrow, marketing and smoke-free rules (2 bills).
Are these summaries reviewed by a lawyer?
No. Which bills count as Tobacco and nicotine bills, and the line on what each law requires or each bill would do, are drafted by software from the bill's own text and not reviewed by an attorney. Every bill links to the legislature's own record: read the text before relying on it. The list covers bills from the 2025 and 2026 sessions.
Other practice areas in California
- AI in California78
- Alcohol in California31
- Cannabis in California18
- Children's Online Safety in California21
- Cybersecurity in California9
- Data center and energy in California16
- Data Privacy in California50
- Employment in California196
- Healthcare in California246
- Insurance in California146
- Intellectual Property in California10
- Packaging and PFAS in California36
- Payments and fintech in California15
- Rental housing in California44
- Transportation in California30
- All jurisdictions
Tobacco and nicotine legislation in other jurisdictions
51 more currently hold bills in this tracker
- New Jersey50
- New York49
- West Virginia31
- Mississippi22
- Hawaii21
- Montana20
- Texas20
- Iowa19
- Illinois19
- Indiana19
- Virginia18
- Connecticut16
- Massachusetts15
- Michigan15
- Missouri15
- Maryland14
- Tennessee13
- Washington13
- Kentucky12
- Oklahoma12
- Louisiana11
- Congress11
- Arizona10
- Nebraska10
- South Dakota10
- Utah10
- Florida9
- Georgia8
- New Hampshire8
- Oregon8
- Wisconsin8
- Maine7
- North Carolina7
- Pennsylvania7
- Rhode Island7
- Arkansas6
- Alabama5
- Idaho5
- Puerto Rico5
- South Carolina5
- New Mexico4
- Wyoming4
- Alaska3
- Colorado3
- Delaware3
- Kansas3
- Nevada3
- Ohio3
- Minnesota2
- North Dakota2
- Vermont2
Know when California's tobacco and nicotine law changes
An alert when a bill moves, and one report a month on what changed in every state and Congress.