Santa Maria, CA Tobacco & Vaping: Flavored Tobacco Bans (2026)
Key Facts
- Products covered
- Any tobacco product with a characterizing flavor
- Presumption threshold
- 4+ flavored items = intent to sell
- Enforcement
- Tied to license penalties, §6-13.13
- Adopted
- Ordinance 2019-11, eff. 1/2/2020
Summary
Santa Maria prohibits tobacco retailers from selling or possessing with intent to sell any Flavored Tobacco Product under Section 6-13.11, covering menthol, mint, fruit, candy and other characterizing flavors. Possessing four or more flavored items creates a rebuttable presumption of intent to sell, and marketing claims of flavor alone can prove a product is flavored.
(a) It shall be a violation of this Chapter for any Tobacco Retailer or any of the Tobacco Retailer's agents or employees to Sell or offer for Sale, or to possess with intent to Sell or offer for Sale, any Flavored Tobacco Product. (b) There shall be a rebuttable presumption that a Tobacco Retailer in possession of four or more Flavored Tobacco Products, including but not limited to individual Flavored Tobacco Products, packages of Flavored Tobacco Products, or any combination thereof, possesses such Flavored Tobacco Products with intent to Sell or offer for Sale. (c) There shall be a rebuttable presumption that a Tobacco Product is a Flavored Tobacco Product if a Tobacco Retailer, Manufacturer, or any employee or agent of a Tobacco Retailer or Manufacturer...uses text or images on the Tobacco Product's Labeling or Packaging that uses descriptive terms such as 'sweet' or 'spicy' that refer to or imply a Characterizing Flavor.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: rev 4818069; v9 updated 2026-04-07).
Full Breakdown
11(a) makes it a violation of Chapter 6-13 for a Tobacco Retailer or its agents or employees to sell, offer for sale, or possess with intent to sell any Flavored Tobacco Product. 01 defines 'Characterizing Flavor' broadly to include menthol, mint, wintergreen, fruit, chocolate, vanilla, honey, candy, cocoa, dessert, alcoholic beverage, herb or spice tastes or aromas imparted before or during use, and defines 'Flavored Tobacco Product' as any product containing a constituent, an added ingredient, substance, chemical or compound other than tobacco, water, or reconstituted tobacco sheet, that imparts that flavor.
11(b) creates a rebuttable presumption of intent to sell whenever a retailer possesses four or more Flavored Tobacco Products, whether individual items, packages, or a combination. 11(c) allows flavor to be proven through public statements or claims that a product imparts a characterizing flavor, labeling or packaging text or imagery implying a flavor, descriptive terms such as 'sweet' or 'spicy,' or marketing reasonably expected to lead consumers to believe the product is flavored. 03. Ordinance 2019-11, effective January 2, 2020, added the flavor ban to the tobacco licensing chapter.
Violations & Fines
A confirmed sale of Flavored Tobacco Products is treated the same as any other licensing violation under Section 6-13.13: a $1,000 fine for a first offense within five years, a 15-day license suspension for a second, 30 days for a third, and revocation for a fourth. Section 6-13.15 also declares any violation a Public Nuisance, allowing the City to summarily abate it in addition to license penalties.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the flavor ban cover menthol cigarettes?
How does the City prove a product is flavored?
What's the penalty for selling flavored vapes in Santa Maria?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Santa Maria
California rules heatmap·Compare Santa Maria to another location·View the California tobacco & vaping overview
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