Researchers from the University of California San Diego have found that local sales bans on flavored tobacco in California are associated with reduced youth vaping over time without increasing cigarette smoking. The findings, based on an analysis of more than 2.8 million middle and high school students, were published April 10, 2026 in JAMA Health Forum.
"Our findings suggest that local flavored tobacco bans can be an effective strategy for reducing youth e-cigarette use," said Eric Leas, PhD, MPH, assistant professor at the UC San Diego Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health and Human Longevity Science and senior author of the study. "Importantly, we did not find evidence that these policies led young people to switch to cigarettes, which has been a major concern raised in policy debates."
