Pacifica, CA Tobacco & Vaping: Flavored Tobacco Bans (2026)
Key Facts
- Prohibited flavors
- menthol, mint, fruit, candy, dessert flavors
- Exemption
- adult-only hookah retailers only
- Fine range
- $100 to $1,000 per violation
- Enforcing agency
- Pacifica City Attorney
- Effective date
- March 30, 2022 (Ord. 871-C.S.)
Summary
In the City of Pacifica, no tobacco retailer, distributor, or other business may sell, offer for sale, or distribute any flavored tobacco product, including flavored vape liquid, menthol, mint, and fruit-flavored products, under Pacifica Municipal Code Chapter 33. The only carve-out is for adult-only retailers selling flavored hookah tobacco. The Pacifica City Attorney enforces the ban with civil fines and can prosecute violations as infractions or misdemeanors.
(a)No person, tobacco retailer, or other legal entity shall sell, or offer for sale nor distribute, any flavored tobacco product, except as provided in Section 5-33.02(c). ... (c)Tobacco retailers that are adult-only retailers that sell flavored tobacco products for use with a hookah pipe or hookah products shall be exempt from the requirements of Section 5-33.02(a). ... (b)Violations of this chapter are subject to a civil action brought by the City Attorney, punishable by a civil fine payable to the city not less than One Hundred and no/100ths ($100.00) Dollars and not exceeding One Thousand and no/100ths ($1,000.00) Dollars per violation.
Full Breakdown
effective March 30, 2022, prohibits selling or distributing any 'flavored tobacco product,' defined as a tobacco product containing a constituent that imparts a 'characterizing flavor': a distinguishable taste or aroma other than tobacco itself, covering fruit, chocolate, vanilla, honey, candy, cocoa, dessert, alcoholic beverage, menthol, mint, wintergreen, herb, or spice flavors. 02(a) bars any person, tobacco retailer, or other legal entity from selling, offering for sale, or distributing a flavored tobacco product anywhere within city limits. A rebuttable presumption of flavoring applies whenever a manufacturer's marketing, labeling, or packaging communicates that the product has a characterizing flavor.
02(c) covers adult-only retailers, meaning businesses that bar minors from the entire premises, selling flavored tobacco for use with a hookah pipe or hookah products. 03 and, in Chapter 32, bans the sale or distribution of electronic cigarettes citywide outright. Retailers who held a valid tobacco retailer license before the ordinance took effect had to comply once that license expired. 06.
Violations & Fines
The City Attorney enforces Chapter 33 through civil actions carrying fines of at least $100 and up to $1,000 per violation, and may instead prosecute a violation as an infraction or misdemeanor. Aiding, abetting, or concealing a violation is itself a separate violation, and every violation is declared a public nuisance subject to abatement in addition to any fine.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Pacifica ban menthol cigarettes and mint vape liquid?
Can any Pacifica store still sell flavored tobacco?
What happens if a Pacifica retailer is caught selling flavored vapes?
Are e-cigarettes sold at all in Pacifica?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Pacifica
California rules heatmap·Compare Pacifica to another location·View the California tobacco & vaping overview
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