California banned sales of flavored e-cigarettes in 2022: Study finds online stores are still selling them, even to kids

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 key finding of my team’s new 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. Hookahs, premium cigars and loose-leaf tobacco were exempted from the legislation. The ban was motivated, in large part, by a desire to reduce to reduce consumption of tobacco among young people — who are particularly attracted to the flavors in e-cigarettes, such as mango and crème.