The California Attorney General’s Office said new funding is available for local governments to combat illegal tobacco sales.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta said the California Department of Justice is accepting proposals for the 2024-2025 Tobacco Grant Program through June 28. The program provides approximately $28.5 million in grant funding to eligible local agencies to enforce state and local laws related to the illegal sale and marketing of tobacco products, including e-cigarettes, to minors.
“Together with local law enforcement, we’re successfully collaborating and coordinating efforts to put a halt to the dangers of illicit tobacco products,” Bonta said. “We must continue to enforce California’s laws around tobacco products, and this funding will allow our communities to do just that, and hold those who violate the law accountable.”
Priority activities include:
- Enforce the statewide retail flavor ban and similar local retail flavor ordinances.
- Prosecute and penalize retailers who sell or market tobacco products to youth under the age of 21, including over the internet.
- Educate and inform tobacco retailers on state and local tobacco laws.
- Investigate and inspect retailer licensing compliance.
The program is funded by Proposition 56, the California Healthcare, Research and Prevention Tobacco Tax Act of 2016. To date, the Tobacco Grant Program has distributed approximately $185 million in grant funding to approximately 406 grantees through a competitive process.
California's ban on all flavored tobacco sales in the state took effect in December 2022.
In April, The Food and Drug Administration, in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Justice, seized 45,000 units of unauthorized e-cigarette products, estimated to be valued at around $703,000, from a warehouse in Alhambra, California, believed to be owned by several California-based distributors. Products included Elf Bar/EB Design, which is the most used brand among youth e-cigarette users, according to the 2023 National Youth Tobacco Survey. Other seized brands included Puff Bar/Puff, Esco Bar, Kuz, Smok and Pixi.
Last year, Reynolds American Inc. called on enforcement officials in California to take action to combat the flood of illegal, unregulated, disposable vapes in kid-friendly flavors that are being shipped into the state’s ports from unknown origins. Prioritizing enforcement of these illicit vapor products, rather than focusing on compliant products, would better serve Californians, the Winston-Salem, North Carolina-based tobacco company said.
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