San Francisco, CA Tobacco & Vaping: Flavored Tobacco Bans (2026)
Key Facts
- Scope
- All flavored tobacco, including menthol
- Adopted by
- Voters, Proposition E, June 2018
- Effective
- July 21, 2018
- Applies to
- Every retail establishment citywide
Summary
San Francisco bans the sale of all flavored tobacco products, including menthol cigarettes and flavored vapes, at every retail establishment citywide.
The sale or distribution by an Establishment of any Flavored Tobacco Product is prohibited.
(b) There shall be a rebuttable presumption that a Tobacco Product, other than a Cigarette, is a Flavored Tobacco Product if a Manufacturer or any of the Manufacturer’s agents or employees, in the course of their agency or employment, has made a statement or claim directed to consumers or to the public that the Tobacco Product has or produces a Characterizing Flavor, including, but not limited to, text, color, and/or images on the product’s Labeling or Packaging that are used to explicitly or implicitly communicate that the Tobacco Product has a Characterizing Flavor. (Added by Proposition_E, 6/5/2018, Eff. 7/21/2018, Oper. 7/21/2018)
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: 2026 S-96: Codes: last updated to include changes made by legislation through Ordinance 133-26, File No. 260686, approved July 23, 2026, effective August 23, 2026).
Full Breakdown
Health Code Article 19Q, enacted by voters as Proposition E in June 2018, prohibits any establishment from selling or distributing a flavored tobacco product, including flavored cigarettes and menthol. There is a rebuttable presumption of a violation if the manufacturer has marketed the product as having a characterizing flavor through labeling, packaging or advertising claims.
Violations & Fines
Enforced by the Director of Public Health under Health Code Article 19 (including Article 19H's administrative penalty and permit-suspension process); selling a flavored product can support suspension or revocation of the retailer's tobacco sales permit.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does San Francisco's flavor ban include menthol cigarettes?
Who enforces the flavored tobacco ban?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in San Francisco
California rules heatmap·Compare San Francisco to another location·View the California tobacco & vaping overview
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