Cupertino, CA Tobacco & Vaping: Flavored Tobacco Bans (2026)

50 prohibits any Retailer from selling a Tobacco Product containing, as a constituent or additive, an artificial or natural flavor or aroma other than tobacco, or an herb or spice, listing strawberry, grape, orange, clove, cinnamon, pineapple, vanilla, coconut, licorice, cocoa, chocolate, cherry, mint, menthol, and coffee as examples of a prohibited characterizing flavor. The ban covers the smoke or vapor produced by the product as well as the product itself, so flavored e-liquids fall under both this flavor ban and the chapter's separate, total prohibition on Electronic Cigarette Products in the same section.

Enforcement does not require a lab test: a product is presumed to violate the flavor ban if its manufacturer or anyone associated with its sale publicly claims the product has a characterizing flavor, or if its label, packaging, or any accompanying text or image communicates that claim, shifting the burden to the retailer to rebut the presumption. 020, makes clear that Tobacco Product reaches everything regulated under Subchapter IX of the federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, including cigarettes, cigars, roll-your-own, smokeless tobacco, and waterpipe tobacco, so the flavor ban is not limited to vaping products. 50.