Texas House Bill 1771 and Health and Safety Code provisions preempt cities from banning the sale of flavored tobacco or e-cigarette products. Houston cannot adopt menthol or flavored vape prohibitions enforced by other states or cities.
Texas House Bill 1771, signed in 2023, blocks municipalities from regulating the sale, display, or marketing of tobacco and e-cigarette products beyond what state law allows. Cities like San Francisco and Massachusetts banned flavored tobacco sales, but Texas law removed that option for Houston and other Texas cities. Federal FDA regulation governs which flavored products may enter the market: the FDA banned cartridge-based flavored e-cigarettes other than tobacco and menthol in 2020 but allows menthol cigarettes and flavored disposable vapes pending further review. Houston therefore cannot prohibit menthol cigarettes, flavored cigars, or fruit-flavored vapes by ordinance. Enforcement falls solely to state and federal agencies.
Houston cannot enforce flavor bans because such ordinances are preempted by Texas HB 1771; only the FDA and Texas Comptroller may take action against unlawfully marketed flavored tobacco products.
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See how Houston's flavored tobacco bans rules stack up against other locations.
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