SDSU San Diego State University logo
CTE Policy Research Center for Tobacco and the Environment logo
Registration for the 3rd Annual Research Symposium on Tobacco and the Environment is Now Open! Click to Learn More.

Policy News

Filters
Reset
Global

Global: Smokefree Outdoor Public Places

Smokefree Zones Expand Across the European Union

February 5, 2026

Several European countries and cities have adopted strict smoking bans in public areas, while others are considering such policies. One of the most strict policies is in Finland, which allows municipal bans on smoking inside apartments and on private balconies. Since January 2025, the city of Milan has banned smoking in all public spaces including streets. A similar ban is being considered in Spain that would ban smoking cigarettes and e-cigarettes in outdoor public spaces, children’s play areas, and educational facilities.
Read More
Global

Global: Commercial Tobacco Product Ban

Innovative Policies in Effect across Europe and the UK: Impact on Tobacco Product Waste

February 5, 2026

The UK started banning any single-use vapes in 2025, but before the ban, it was estimated that as many as 5 million disposable vapes were thrown in bins or littered across the UK every week, instead of being recycled. In Latvia and the Netherlands, all e-cigarette flavors are banned except the tobacco flavor. Europe and the UK helped us take an immense step closer to a smoke-free world.

Read More
State

State: Commercial Tobacco Product Ban

California Assembly Bill 762, Ban of Single-Use Nicotine Vapes, Moves to Senate Consideration

February 3 , 2026

As of January 29, 2026, California Assembly Bill 762 has moved to the state Senate for consideration. AB 762 proposes a ban on single-use vapes that contain nicotine to reduce litter and prevent fires at waste and recycling facilities. If the bill passes the Senate, AB 762 will first ban the import or manufacture of such devices in the state starting Jan. 1, 2027; and second ban the sale or distribution of the vapes starting Jan. 1, 2028.
Read More
State

State: Commercial Tobacco Product Ban

First-Ever Local Tobacco Sales Ban Nearly Eliminated Tobacco Purchases in California Cities

January 23, 2026

Researchers from Boston University and the University of California, San Francisco, studied the effects of bans on tobacco sales in Beverly Hills and Manhattan Beach. Their findings provide the first evidence of how the bans have affected both California cities. The findings show a decline in local tobacco sales in convenience, grocery, and drug stores after the bans, but no decline in sales of non-tobacco products. By banning tobacco sales, Beverly Hills and Manhattan Beach took a big step toward reducing the environmental and health harms of commercial tobacco.

Read More
State

State: Commercial Tobacco Product Ban

Tiburon, California Passes Historic Ban on Tobacco Products

November 7, 2025

The town of Tiburon in Marin County, California has banned the sale of tobacco products. The ban, set to go into effect on December 5th of this year, goes further than those passed by Beverly Hills and Manhattan Beach in 2021, which carved out some exemptions. Kudos to the local high school students and members of the Youth Advocacy Committee, who brought the issue to their town council.

Read More
Global

Global: Commercial Tobacco Product Ban

Maldives Becomes First Country to Impose a Generational Ban on Smoking

November 3, 2025

The Maldives is the first country in the world to impose a generational smoking ban. The ban prohibits anyone born after January 1, 2007 from purchasing or using tobacco products of any kind, expanding existing law that prohibits the use of vapes and electronic cigarettes for all ages. While the Maldives is not the first to pass a generational ban, it has become the first country to enforce one, as New Zealand’s generational ban was passed in 2022 but repealed in 2023 before it could be enforced.

Read More
Secret Link