Senate Bill 5803 creates a new chapter in Title 70 and makes many changes to tobacco, nicotine, and vapor product law. Beginning July 1, 2027 it prohibits retailers from selling, offering for sale, displaying, marketing, or advertising any “flavored tobacco or nicotine product” or any “entertainment vapor product.” The bill defines flavored products broadly (any product imparting a taste or smell other than tobacco or a distinguishable cooling/numbing sensation) and defines entertainment vapor products as vapor products with interactive gaming or entertainment features. Selling or promoting such products in violation of the ban is declared an unfair or deceptive act under the state consumer protection act. The bill modifies criminal and licensing provisions. RCW 26.28.080 is amended so that selling or giving tobacco, alternative nicotine products, or vapor products to any person under 21 is a gross misdemeanor and the prior agent/representative belief defense is removed. It also creates new criminal penalties in the vapor/tobacco chapters: acquiring vapor products from an unlicensed person and holding them for sale is punishable as a class C felony; refusing inspection or hindering enforcement can be a gross misdemeanor; operating in a capacity without required licenses can be a misdemeanor. The Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board is given enforcement authority including adopting rules, providing compliance education, issuing signage, suspending or revoking licenses, and imposing tiered monetary penalties and license suspensions or revocations for repeated violations (escalating monetary penalties and suspensions up to $20,000 and five-year license bar for habitual violations). The bill requires licensees to post specified signs and to check from a listed set of official IDs when age is in question, and it allows tribal enrollment cards with prior notice. The bill also changes tax, licensing, recordkeeping, and administrative procedures. It imposes a $2 per package cigarette tax with CPI-based adjustments beginning December 2028, sets a 95 percent tax rate on vapor products, establishes $1,000 license/application fees for wholesalers, distributors, and retailers (with separate fees for additional locations), and adds fees for vending machines and cigarette-making machines. It requires distributors and retailers to keep five years of records and allows department and board inspections without a warrant; contraband rules, forfeiture, and auction procedures are specified. Preexisting vapor-product inventories are subject to a reporting deadline of January 31, 2026 and a payment deadline of April 30, 2026 with specified penalties and interest rules. The Department of Health must run a prevention and awareness campaign and report by January 1, 2027 (that campaign requirement expires July 1, 2027). Important provisions are cited to many existing RCWs and several sections of the bill and cross-references are missing or cut off in the provided text, so some tax, penalty, and implementation details and later sections are incomplete or not included here.

If enacted, retailers and other sellers in Washington will no longer be able to sell, display, market, or advertise flavored tobacco or nicotine products or "entertainment" vapor products beginning July 1, 2027 (with flavored shisha sold only in 21+ venues exempted). Businesses that currently sell these items will face lost product lines, new $1,000-per-location licensing fees (and extra fees for vending or cigarette-making machines), a 95 percent tax on vapor products, a $2-per-pack cigarette tax with CPI-based adjustments every three years, and strict ID, signage, recordkeeping, inspection, and reporting duties including preexisting-inventory tax reports due Jan. 31, 2026 and payments due Apr. 30, 2026 or face penalties and interest. The Liquor and Cannabis Board will enforce the rules with escalating monetary penalties, suspensions, and revocations (up to $20,000 and a five-year ban), and unlicensed distribution can carry criminal liability, so retailers, wholesalers, distributors, manufacturers, and delivery sellers should expect higher compliance costs, tighter inspection risk, and potential criminal exposure for noncompliance; the Department of Health must run a time-limited education campaign and the new taxes will direct initial revenues to youth prevention, cancer research match, and public health accounts before funds go to the general fund. Important details about some penalties, exact tax collection mechanics, and other amended sections cited in the bill are missing from the provided text, so implementation timing and certain enforcement procedures remain unclear.