We Were Told Flavored E-Cigarette and Vape Sales Were Banned in California. We Were Lied To.
In 2022, California banned sales of flavored e-cigarettes. However, a study finds online stores are still selling them, even to kids, who shouldn't be allowed to purchase any e-cigarettes regardless of whether they contain flavors or not.
California State Senate Bill 793 was supposed to stop the sale of most flavored tobacco products to adolescents.
Californians, including minors, are still able to buy flavored electronic cigarettes online, even after the state’s much-publicized ban went into effect. That’s the main finding of a 2023 study published in JAMA Network Open.
On Dec. 21, 2022, California enacted Senate Bill 793, which prohibited the sale of most flavored tobacco products, including e-cigarettes, to people of all ages. Exempt from Bill 793 were Hookahs, premium cigars, and loose-leaf tobacco.
The intended purpose of this ban was to reduce the use of tobacco among young people, who are particularly seduced by the over 7,000 flavors of e-cigarettes and vapes. Some of the most popular flavors among young people are mint, mango, and other fruit flavors.
According to the study published in JAMA Network Open, before and after the passage of SB 793, the researchers posed online as minors under the age of 21 and attempted to buy flavored e-cigarette products from 26 websites that sold them in California.
A “purchase attempt” was counted when a researcher could add a flavored e-cigarette product to their cart, pass the age verification system, if there was one, and provide their credit card information.
The study showed that before SB 793 was in effect; the purchase attempt success rate was 52%. After SB 793, the success rate rose – to almost 61%.
Vaping and e-cigarette use have long-term impacts on a user’s heart lungs and many other parts of the body, despite being marketed as a safer alternative to smoking. You don't even have to vape for a significant period to have devasting consequences, such as lung damange, potentially rusulting in a lung transplant, and even death.
Why it matters
The use of e-cigarettes and vapes among youth is a significant public health concern. Flavored products have a powerful appeal to kids.
The nicotine in e-cigarettes impairs an adolescent’s brain development. An adoclescent's brain is not fully developed until the late 20s. The effects of stimulants on a brain that is still developing can have far-reaching and negative impacts. Furthermore, the aerosols breathed in when vaping contain cancer-causing chemicals and heavy metals such as nickel, tin, and lead. No amount of those chemicals are safe to breathe into your lungs.
It has also been shown that flavored tobacco products are known to make it even more challenging to stop using nicotine.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s 2009 ban on flavored cigarettes was meant to reduce adolescent tobacco use. It makes sense then for California to implement further tobacco control policies, not only with SB 793 but through local sales restrictions in many California cities. If online vendors either put profit over kids, or are unaware of these laws, young people may still have access to flavored tobacco products.
Online sales to minors are not the only continuing issue.
In fact, an article published by Nicholas Florko on statnews.com on Jan 27, 2023, states that it is easy to buy flavored vapes in California, even in cities with long-time bans.
STAT visited 24 vape shops in various cities in California with bans on flavored vaped for at least a year, some for two or more. Seventeen of the shops, or 70% were selling the products anyway. These cities are clearly unable or unwilling to police the seller.
What still isn’t known
It remains unclear why flavored e-cigarettes are still available from online retailers in California. Are vendors not concerned about breaking the new law, do they not know the law, or do they not believe it applies to online sales?
A comprehensive evaluation of SB 793 compliance among brands and vendors that sell their products online in California is needed. This would help determine the extent to which flavored e-cigarettes are still available and provide data on retailer awareness of the new legislation and whether they understand the potential consequences of violating it.
Immediate attention from state agencies to enforce the ban on flavored e-cigarette products in California is paramount.
More Research
Another research team collected weekly Google search rates related to online shopping for cigarettes and vaping products in California from January 2018 to May 2023. It was found that shopping searches were 194% higher than expected for cigarettes and 162% higher than expected for e-cigarettes. This suggests that consumers are searching Google for vendors that promote banned products.
Without follow-up and implemented consequences, the problem will continue to exist and likely become worse despite laws that have been passed or will be passed in the future.
