Santa Barbara County, CA Tobacco & Vaping: Flavored Tobacco Bans (2026)
Key Facts
- Flavored product sales
- Banned outright, no exceptions
- Cigarette price floor
- $10 per pack of 20
- Cigar package minimum
- 6 cigars unless $10+ each
- Self-service tobacco displays
- Prohibited
- First violation license penalty
- 30-day suspension
- Enforcement
- Sheriff + Public Health Dept.
Summary
Licensed tobacco retailers in unincorporated Santa Barbara County cannot sell any flavored tobacco product at all, including menthol, mint, fruit, candy, or alcohol-flavored items, under County Code Sec. 37A-9.5. The same section also bans self-service tobacco displays and sets minimum package sizes and prices for cigars, little cigars, and cigarettes.
No person engaged in tobacco retailing may:...(4)Sell:a.A flavored tobacco product;b.Any little cigar unless it is sold in a package of at least twenty little cigars;c.Any cigar unless it is sold in a package of at least at least six cigars, provided, however, that this subsection shall not apply to a cigar that has a price of at least ten dollars per cigar, including all applicable taxes and fees;d.Cigarettes at a price that is less than ten dollars per package of twenty cigarettes, including all applicable taxes and fees;e.Little cigars at a price that is less than ten dollars per package of little cigars, including all applicable taxes and fees; orf.Cigars in a package at a price that is less five dollars per cigar, including all applicable taxes and fees.g.Any tobacco product by means of a self-service display.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 44 Update 1).
Full Breakdown
Sec. 37A-2(g) defines a flavored tobacco product as any tobacco product with a taste or smell other than tobacco that an ordinary consumer can distinguish, listing fruit, menthol, mint, wintergreen, chocolate, cocoa, vanilla, honey, candy, dessert, alcoholic beverage, herb, or spice flavors as examples. Sec. 5(4)(a) then makes it unlawful for anyone engaged in tobacco retailing to sell a flavored tobacco product at all, a flat sales ban rather than an age or licensing restriction. The same subsection bundles in related sales floors: little cigars must be sold in packages of at least 20, cigars in packages of at least 6 unless priced at $10 or more each, cigarettes cannot be sold below $10 per pack of 20, little cigars cannot be sold below $10 per pack, and cigars in a package cannot be priced below $5 each; those dollar minimums adjust annually with the Los Angeles-area Consumer Price Index.
Subsection (4)(g) separately bans selling any tobacco product through a self-service display, meaning flavored or unflavored stock must stay behind the counter. Sec. 37A-14 puts the Santa Barbara County Sheriff, working with the public health department, in charge of compliance checks, run one to three times per license per year. A retailer found selling flavored product risks the license sanctions in Sec. 37A-15: a 30-day suspension for a first finding within five years, 90 days for a second, and 12 months (5 years if within 1,000 feet of a school) for a third or later finding.
Violations & Fines
Selling flavored tobacco is a misdemeanor under Sec. 37A-16, punishable as provided in County Code Chapter 1, Sec. 1-7, and is separately declared a public nuisance. On top of criminal exposure, a finding of a violation triggers escalating license suspension under Sec. 37A-15: 30 days first, 90 days second, and 12 months (or 5 years near a school) for a third violation within five years.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are menthol cigarettes covered by this flavor ban?
Does the flavor ban apply to vape liquid, not just cigarettes?
What happens to a store caught selling flavored tobacco a second time?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Santa Barbara County
California rules heatmap·Compare Santa Barbara County to another location·View the California tobacco & vaping overview
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