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Cambridge, MA Tobacco & Vaping: Flavored Tobacco Bans (2026)

Heavy Restrictions
Compiled from the official code textEditor Martyn O'NeillLast verified September 2026

Key Facts

Governing section
Municipal Code Section 8.28.030(K)
Exempt sellers
Licensed retail tobacco stores only
Not covered
Menthol, mint, and wintergreen flavors
Per-violation fine
$25 per day under Section 8.28.040(D)
Enforcing agencies
Police, License Commission, Public Health, Inspectional Services

Summary

Cambridge bans selling any flavored tobacco product to consumers under Section 8.28.030(K), covering characterizing flavors like fruit, candy, and dessert tastes. The only carve-out is a licensed retail tobacco store, an adults-only shop where tobacco sales are the primary business, so ordinary convenience stores and pharmacies cannot sell it.

Characterizing Flavor. A distinguishable taste or aroma, other than the taste or aroma of tobacco, menthol, mint or wintergreen, imparted either prior to or during consumption of a tobacco product or component part thereof, including but not limited to, tastes or aromas relating to any fruit, chocolate, vanilla, honey, candy, cocoa, dessert, alcoholic beverage, herb or spice ... K.Sale of Flavored Tobacco Prohibited. No retailer, or other individual or entity shall sell or distribute or cause to be sold or distributed or offer for sale any flavored tobacco to a consumer. This provision shall not apply to a retail tobacco store.

View official code

Full Breakdown

030(K) of the Municipal Code, 'Sale of Flavored Tobacco Prohibited,' bars any retailer or other individual or entity from selling, distributing, or offering for sale flavored tobacco to a consumer, with a single exception for a retail tobacco store. 020 defines a 'flavored tobacco product' as any tobacco product or component containing a constituent that imparts a 'characterizing flavor,' meaning a taste or aroma other than tobacco, menthol, mint, or wintergreen, and the ordinance lists fruit, chocolate, vanilla, honey, candy, cocoa, dessert, and alcoholic beverage flavors as examples.

A manufacturer's own public claim that a product has a characterizing flavor counts as presumptive evidence that it is flavored. 020 defines that term as an establishment that does not hold a retail food permit, sells tobacco products and paraphernalia as its primary business, bars entry to anyone under eighteen at all times, and holds a valid City tobacco retail permit. Because menthol, mint, and wintergreen are expressly carved out of 'characterizing flavor,' those products are not swept into the ban the way fruit or candy flavors are. 030(C), so a flavored-tobacco violation can also jeopardize that permit.

Violations & Fines

Selling flavored tobacco outside the retail-tobacco-store exception is a violation of Chapter 8.28 other than Section 8.28.030(A), so it draws a twenty-five dollar fine per day under Section 8.28.040(D), enforceable by noncriminal disposition, with every day of continued sales a separate offense. Repeated violations can also support suspension of the seller's tobacco sales permit.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can any store in Cambridge sell flavored vape products?
No. Section 8.28.030(K) bans selling flavored tobacco, which includes flavored e-cigarette and nicotine delivery products, to consumers at any retailer except a licensed retail tobacco store, an adults-only shop where tobacco is the primary business. Ordinary convenience stores, gas stations, and pharmacies cannot sell flavored tobacco under this rule.
Does the Cambridge flavor ban cover menthol cigarettes?
No. Section 8.28.020 defines 'characterizing flavor' as a taste or aroma other than tobacco, menthol, mint, or wintergreen, so those three flavors fall outside the definition of flavored tobacco that Section 8.28.030(K) prohibits, even though fruit, candy, and dessert flavors are barred.
What is the penalty for selling flavored tobacco in Cambridge?
Since flavored-tobacco sales violate a provision other than Section 8.28.030(A), Section 8.28.040(D) sets the fine at twenty-five dollars per day of violation, pursued as a noncriminal disposition. The retailer's tobacco sales permit can also face suspension if violations recur within a twenty-four-month period.

Sources & Official References

Other rules in Cambridge

Fence Regulations: Height LimitsSome RestrictionsParking Rules: Loading ZonesSome RestrictionsParking Rules: Driveway RulesSome RestrictionsAnimal Ordinances: BeekeepingSome RestrictionsAnimal Ordinances: Veterinary Clinic ZoningSignificant RestrictionsAnimal Ordinances: Pet Store RulesHeavy Restrictions

All Cambridge rules

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