This bill (Senate Bill 5183, S-0274.1) would create a new chapter in Title 70 RCW and amend several existing statutes to prohibit the sale, offer for sale, display, marketing, or advertising in Washington of "flavored tobacco or nicotine products" and "entertainment vapor products" beginning January 1, 2026. It defines "flavored" to include any imparted taste or smell other than tobacco or a cooling/numbing sensation distinguishable by an ordinary consumer and defines "entertainment vapor product" to include vapor products with interactive gaming or media features. The bill also makes selling or advertising these products an unfair or deceptive practice under the Washington Consumer Protection Act (RCW 19.86.020). The bill directs the Department of Health to develop, implement, and maintain a statewide prevention and awareness campaign consistent with CDC best practices and to report on the program to legislative committees by January 1, 2026. The Liquor and Cannabis Board is required to adopt rules to implement the chapter, provide compliance education to licensed retailers, distributors, manufacturers and employees, and furnish department-designed signage (to be displayed by licensees and provided free of charge) stating the prohibition and the prohibition on sales to persons under age 21. The governor is authorized to seek government-to-government consultations with federally recognized tribes regarding the prohibitions and related compact provisions. The act amends tax and regulatory definitions in RCW 82.26.010 and related provisions to restate and expand definitions for "vapor product," "tobacco products," "taxable sales price," and related terms, and it authorizes the Department of Revenue to adopt rules on taxable sales price determination. Enforcement provisions assign the Liquor and Cannabis Board authority to suspend or revoke relevant licenses and impose monetary penalties, with escalating sanctions and specified suspension lengths tied to repeated violations within any three-year period, allow cease-and-desist and injunctive actions and collection of unpaid civil penalties, permit a clerk education class in lieu of a first monetary penalty, and permit penalty reduction or waiver for mitigating circumstances. Important text is missing or incomplete in the provided extracts: the contents of "section 3 of this act" (which is referenced repeatedly for enforcement), full penalty schedules and monetary amounts, some signage language, and the complete new chapter text and Sec. 15; those specifics cannot be stated from the available material. A severability clause is included.

If enacted, the bill would effectively ban the sale, display, marketing, and advertising of flavored tobacco/nicotine products and any “entertainment” vapor devices in Washington beginning January 1, 2026, and creates rules for treating products as flavored based on manufacturer or retailer communications and certain marketing terms. The Department of Health must run a statewide prevention and awareness campaign and report to the Legislature by January 1, 2026, while the Liquor and Cannabis Board must write implementation rules, provide compliance education, supply free signage (including a required sign saying flavored products are prohibited) and enforce the ban by suspending or revoking licenses, imposing escalating fines, issuing cease-and-desist orders, and seeking court remedies; a clerk training class may be offered in lieu of a first monetary penalty. Retailers, distributors, manufacturers, and their employees are most affected: they will lose the ability to legally sell or market these flavored and entertainment vapor products, must remove or stop advertising them, and face greater risk of fines, license suspension, or revocation; they must also display required signage and licenses. State agencies (Department of Health, Liquor and Cannabis Board, and Department of Revenue) gain new duties—public education, rulemaking, free sign distribution, and tax-definition rulemaking—and likely related costs, while federally recognized tribes are to be consulted. Key details about certain enforcement sections, specific penalty amounts, and other amended provisions are not included in the provided text, so the full scope of penalties and some implementation steps remain unclear.