SACRAMENTO, CA – Assemblymember Rogers (D-Santa Rosa), in partnership with the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, American Heart Association, American Lung Association, and the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, is authoring AB 573 to improve enforcement of the statewide ban on flavored tobacco products.
“Too many kids are getting hooked on flavored tobacco despite new laws to prohibit the sale of these products,” said Assemblymember Rogers. “More proactive enforcement is needed to make sure retailers that still carry flavored tobacco products are held accountable and come into compliance with the law. AB 573 will generate critical funding to ensure these enforcement efforts can effectively reach bad actors that illegally sell flavored tobacco products in our state.”
AB 573 would increase the fees that tobacco retailers pay each year from $265 to $600 a year to maintain and enhance enforcement operations at the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration (CDTFA). CDTFA is currently only able to visit 11% of tobacco retailers each year and, without additional funding from the state tobacco license, those inspection numbers will continue to decline. Increasing the fee will improve CDTFA’s ability to identify bad actors in the retail landscape and to target its enforcement efforts more effectively.
Additionally, AB 573 commissions a study of the tobacco retailer enforcement landscape to make recommendations for better coordination amongst the various enforcing agencies as well as an appropriate fee to ensure maximum compliance of all California’s retailers.
A 2024 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study found that 9-out-of-10 middle school and high school students who currently use e-cigarettes prefer flavored products. Illegal flavored e-cigarettes still comprise 39.8% of total e-cigarette sales in California and disposable e-cigarettes represent 90.9% of sales of prohibited flavored e-cigarettes in California. In 2024, 18.9% of California tobacco retailers still sold tobacco to underage buyers.
More effective retail licensing enforcement will reduce the availability of flavored tobacco products and prevent young people from getting addicted to tobacco.
“We are grateful for Assemblymember Rogers’ leadership in helping counter the tobacco industry’s relentless targeting of kids by ensuring that CDTFA can sustain its current compliance operations,” said Alexandria Felton, Regional Advocacy Director for the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. “CDTFA’s new authority to seize and destroy flavored tobacco products is a powerful tool and AB 573 provides the funding needed to continue holding bad actors responsible for their actions.”
“To ensure California's elimination of the sale of flavored tobacco products achieves the maximum public health benefit, it’s critical to invest in the implementation of the policy. Additional resources for CDTFA are essential to provide effective enforcement, keeping these products off retailer shelves and out of the hands of youth,” said Jamie Morgan, Senior Region Lead, State Government Relations, American Heart Association.
“Tobacco use is tied to over 12 types of cancer, including lung cancer -- the leading cause of cancer deaths in California. Holding bad actors accountable for undermining the law and illegally selling highly addictive and dangerous flavored tobacco products, especially to kids, is key to reducing tobacco use, creating healthier communities and moving closer to ending cancer as we know it, for everyone,” said Jen Grand-Lejano, California managing director for the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN).
"The continued sale of illegal flavored tobacco products in California is putting our youth at risk of a lifetime of addiction," said Kesa Bruce, Advocacy Director for the American Lung Association. "AB 573 is necessary to strengthen programmatic efforts and enforcement at CDTFA and ensure retailers are held accountable for violating the law."
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Chris Rogers was elected to the State Assembly in 2024. As the Assemblymember for the Second Assembly District, he represents Sonoma, Mendocino, Humboldt, Del Norte and Trinity counties. Learn more about Assemblymember Rogers here.
