California banned menthol cigarettes because menthol makes tobacco easier to start smoking and harder to quit, and because tobacco companies spent decades aggressively marketing menthol products to Black communities, LGBTQ+ people, and young buyers. The reasoning behind why California banned menthol cigarettes rests on both the chemistry of the product and the history of how it was sold. Lawmakers passed Senate Bill 793 in 2020, voters upheld it as Proposition 31 in 2022, and the ban on retail sales took effect on January 1, 2023.
What Menthol Does to Smokers
Menthol is not just a flavor choice. Its cooling sensation masks the harshness of tobacco smoke, which lets first-time users inhale more deeply without coughing. Deeper inhalation drives more nicotine into the lungs and bloodstream, which speeds up addiction. For people who already smoke, menthol dulls the throat irritation that might otherwise push a smoker toward quitting. The product is engineered, in effect, to lower the barriers to starting and raise the barriers to stopping.
That dual effect was central to the public health case lawmakers made. A flavoring that makes a deadly product easier to use is not neutral, and California treated it accordingly.
Decades of Targeted Marketing
The second half of the reasoning is historical. Tobacco companies spent decades advertising menthol brands in Black neighborhoods, sponsoring events in those communities, and pricing products in local stores to attract young buyers. LGBTQ+ communities were targeted in similar ways. The result was a sharp demographic split: menthol cigarette use became overwhelmingly concentrated among Black smokers compared with white smokers.
California lawmakers framed this as harm that was engineered rather than freely chosen. By cutting off retail access to menthol and other flavored tobacco, they aimed to undo health damage produced by marketing campaigns that specifically sought out vulnerable populations.
How the Ban Became Law
Governor Gavin Newsom signed SB 793 on August 28, 2020.1Governor of California. Governor Newsom Signs Legislation 8.28.20 The law was set to take effect January 1, 2021, but tobacco companies gathered enough signatures to suspend it and force a statewide vote. Flavored tobacco stayed on California shelves through the end of 2022 as a result.
The question went to voters in November 2022 as Proposition 31. A “yes” vote upheld the ban; a “no” vote would have repealed it. California voters upheld the ban with 63.4% voting yes.2Ballotpedia. California Proposition 31, Flavored Tobacco Products Ban Referendum (2022) Retail sales of menthol cigarettes and other flavored tobacco products stopped on January 1, 2023.
R.J. Reynolds and other tobacco companies pursued a parallel federal lawsuit challenging the ban. The Southern District of California dismissed the case, the Ninth Circuit affirmed, and the U.S. Supreme Court denied review on January 8, 2024, ending the industry’s legal challenges.
What the Ban Covers
California prohibits retailers from selling any tobacco product with a “characterizing flavor” other than tobacco. The definition is broad and covers any taste or smell an ordinary consumer can detect before or during use, including fruit, chocolate, vanilla, candy, mint, menthol, wintergreen, herbs, and spices.3State of California – Department of Justice – Office of the Attorney General. Flavor Ban As of 2025, the law also captures products that produce a “cooling sensation” even if they contain no menthol, closing a loophole where manufacturers reformulated products to deliver the same feel using different ingredients. The 2025 amendments also expanded the state’s definition of nicotine to include synthetic nicotine, shutting down another workaround.
Prohibited products include:
- Menthol cigarettes
- Flavored e-cigarettes, vapes, and e-liquids
- Flavored little cigars and cigarillos
- Flavored smokeless tobacco such as dip, snus, and pouches
- Tobacco product flavor enhancers
Three narrow categories remain legal: premium handmade cigars with a wholesale price of $12 or more and no filter, flavored loose-leaf pipe tobacco, and flavored hookah and shisha tobacco when sold inside a licensed hookah lounge or tobacco store that restricts entry to people 21 and older.
Can You Still Possess or Use Menthol Cigarettes?
Yes. The ban applies to retailers, not to individuals. You will not face any penalty for possessing or using menthol cigarettes, and nothing in SB 793 or its later amendments criminalizes personal use or carrying them home from another state.4California Department of Public Health. California Prohibits Retailers from Selling Flavored Tobacco Products As of 2025, however, online and delivery sales of flavored tobacco products to California addresses are explicitly prohibited, so ordering from an out-of-state retailer is not a legal workaround.
California’s state ban is a floor, not a ceiling. Cities and counties can and do pass stricter rules, and a local government can prohibit products the state exempts, such as flavored hookah tobacco or flavored pipe tobacco.5CDPH – CA.gov. Frequently Asked Questions – California’s Flavored Tobacco Sales Law Federally recognized tribes are sovereign nations, so California’s tobacco regulations do not apply to retailers operating on tribal land within the state.
Why California Acted When the Federal Government Didn’t
Part of the reason California moved on its own is that no federal menthol ban exists. The FDA proposed a nationwide ban on menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars in April 2022, but the rule was repeatedly delayed. The White House pushed back the expected deadline in December 2023, and the deadline passed without action in March 2024. In January 2025, the incoming Trump administration withdrew the proposed rules. There is no active federal effort to ban menthol cigarettes.
That leaves state law as the only mechanism prohibiting these products. Only California and Massachusetts have enacted comprehensive bans that include menthol cigarettes, and California became the second state to do so when its law finally took effect at the start of 2023.