Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price Announces Leadership Award for Consumer Justice Bureau for Tobacco Control Efforts
June 10, 2024
OAKLAND, CA — Today, Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price announces that her office’s Consumer Justice Bureau (CJB) has received the Leadership Policy Implementation Award from the Alameda County Tobacco Control Coalition (ACTCC) for its contribution to tobacco control efforts in Alameda County over the last year.
The award acknowledges the CJB’s groundbreaking civil prosecution of a group of related business entities in Livermore that operated under the trade name Apollo E-Cigs selling flavored tobacco products in violation of SB 793 and California’s Health and Safety Code. Prior to the lawsuit, the Defendants sold tobacco products online through multiple platforms without verifying the age of their customers and sold to minors in person from its unlicensed storefront in Livermore. In October 2023, DA Price’s CJB sought and obtained a preliminary injunction shutting down the illegal flavored tobacco operation while the lawsuit is pending. This case was the first time a court considered whether California’s ban on flavored tobacco products applies to online sales. The Court adopted the CJB team’s statutory analysis showing that the flavor ban applies to all sales, including online delivery sales.
“Public safety includes protecting our young people from violators of California’s tobacco laws who target young people to sell them addictive products,” said District Attorney Pamela Price. “CJB’s enforcement action against Apollo E-Cigs is a template for law enforcement agencies across the State to bring other violators into compliance with California’s tobacco flavor ban to protect young people in California.”
Contact: damedia@acgov.org