LOS ANGELES – California cities are supposed to be cracking down on sales of flavored vapes, which are now illegal across the state. But even cities that have banned such vapes for years are unwilling — or unable — to police the sellers.
STAT visited 24 vape shops earlier this month in Oxnard, Ventura, Pasadena, El Monte, Carson and West Hollywood — all of which have had bans on flavored vapes on the books for at least a year; most for two or more years. Seventeen of the shops, or 70%, were selling the products anyway. One city is doing much better than the others: In Oxnard, where we hit five shops, none of the stores sold flavored vapes.
Many of the sellers of these products appeared to be openly flouting the law with impunity. In the city of Ventura, which banned flavored vapes in December 2019, five of the six shops STAT visited were selling illegal products. Two shops selling vapes were located on the city’s bustling main street, less than a block from city hall.
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