The City council of San Diego, California, passed an ordinance On Tuesday banning the sale of flavored e-cigarettes and other tobacco products, including menthol, in the city, effective January 1, 2023.
The ban follows similar actions against unincorporated areas in the California cities of Imperial Beach, Encinitas and Solana Beach, as well as San Diego County.
It was also a few months before the issue was settled in a statewide referendum in November, according to the San Diego Times.
The Council adopted the first reading of the question in April. A second vote made the decree -- known as the Stop Teen E-cigarette Addiction or SAAFE Act -- law.
The rule does not apply to the sale of hookah, premium cigar or loose leaf tobacco, unscented or tobacco-flavored e-cigarettes and FDA-approved smoking cessation devices, which will also be exempt from the ban.
Opposing the law during a lengthy public hearing in April were dozens of small business owners who claim flavored tobacco accounts for anywhere from 25 percent to nearly half of their business.