City councillors in Oakland voted to ban sales of flavoured tobacco products, including menthol cigarettes, making it the second California city after San Francisco on 20 June, the East Bay Times said.

A second vote expected in September is required for the law to take effect as planned in 2018, the newspaper said on its website. It was not immediately clear whether the Oakland ban includes e-juices with nicotine, as does the San Francisco ban. A ban on flavours in tobacco products was approved on 12 July in nearby Contra Costa County, the East Bay Times said.
In San Francisco, a coalition of tobacco manufacturers, vaping groups and grocers is collecting signatures for a ballot referendum to reverse the ban, the newspaper said.