Overview
- The state Assembly approved Assembly Bill 762 and sent it to Gov. Gavin Newsom after a Wednesday vote that followed earlier Senate approval.
- If Newsom signs the measure, importation and manufacturing of targeted disposable vapes would be banned starting Jan. 1, 2027, and sales would be outlawed beginning Jan. 1, 2028.
- The law targets single‑use devices with embedded lithium batteries, exempts cannabis vapes, and requires legal nicotine devices to be refillable or use replaceable pods and be rechargeable.
- Supporters point to environmental and safety harms — including claims that about 500,000 disposable vapes are discarded daily and that battery shorts help cause thousands of recycling‑facility fires each year — while the bill sets fines starting at $500 and civil penalties up to $2,000 for repeat violations.
- Vape manufacturers and trade groups say the products aid adult smoking cessation and plan to oppose the ban, which could prompt legal challenges and force retailers and waste managers to adjust supply chains and disposal practices.