View as Webpage

The SOL Project is looking for applicants for our public health pipeline internship! This paid, hybrid internship is Sacramento-based, serving as a way for college students to explore opportunities in public health with a focus on tobacco control leadership, local policy advocacy, and health equity. We would appreciate if you could share our flyer within your networks and to interested candidates. Thank you!

Save the Date! The SOL Project is hosting a virtual training featuring guest speaker Tim Gibbs, designed to strengthen skills in engaging elected officials and advancing tobacco control policy. This event is ideal for community engagement staff, interns, and any interested in becoming tobacco control advocates! Stay tuned for registration details coming soon.

The SOL Project proudly presents the 3rd Annual Faith In Health Collaborative Summit on Thursday, February 26, 2026, from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the Sierra Health Foundation in Sacramento.

This year’s theme, “Black Health in 2026: Strengthening Our Future Through Smoke-Free Living and Community Care,” brings together faith leaders, health professionals, youth advocates, and community organizations for a powerful, solutions-focused gathering.

The Summit features Keynote Speaker Gregory Bolden, Community Initiatives Program Manager at the Center for Black Health & Equity, with 30 years of experience in public health, men’s health, and community organizing.

Additional speakers include Eric Batch, National Vice President of Advocacy Outreach & Partnerships at the American Heart Association; Ryon Everidge (Ryon Cali), spoken word artist and anti-tobacco advocate; and Savannah Robinson, Community Relations Representative with Anthem Blue Cross Medi-Cal.

The event will be emceed by Dr. Thomas Hopkins, internal medicine physician and former Chief Medical Correspondent for KCRA 3.

SAVE THE DATES! March 4-5, 2026 in Sacramento - CLICK HERE to get more info about the agenda for California Healthy Housing Coalition. 

Join The SOL Project for Youth-Led Action: Igniting Youth for Change, a virtual training workshop on Monday, March 9, from 6:00–7:30 PM via Zoom. Designed for faith leaders, community and housing advocates, and community-based organizations, this session features guest experts Ignacio Burgos and Symphanie Algodon from the California Youth Advocacy Network (CYAN). Learn proven strategies for recruiting and engaging youth, effective youth-led advocacy models, and insights on vaping and smoking challenges youth face today.

Build a Healthier, Smoke & Tobacco Free Future with The SOL Team!

Does your organization, school, or group need support creating a smoke and tobacco free environment?

The SOL Team is here to help — for FREE!

We offer:

✅ Tobacco Policy Recommendations

✅ Education Materials

✅ Quit Smoking Resources

✅ Volunteer Opportunities

✅ Expert Trainings

In the New Year 2026 and beyond protect your loved ones from smoking, vaping, and secondhand smoke. Children are especially vulnerable — secondhand smoke can cause serious health problems. Visit KickItCA.org for free support to help you or someone you love #QuitSmoking or #QuitVaping.

California Publishes First “Unflavored Tobacco List” to Strengthen Flavor Ban

by Twlia Laster, Project Director at The SOL Project

California has just published its first-ever Unflavored Tobacco List (UTL). This list shows which tobacco products are allowed to be sold in the state under rules meant to reduce flavored tobacco use. https://utl.doj.ca.gov/

Under a new state law (Assembly Bill 3218), tobacco companies had to submit products for review by October 2025. If a product is not on the UTL, it is considered flavored and cannot be sold in California.

This new list gives clarity to local and state law enforcement officers, retailers, and communities about what products are legal and what products are not. It also makes it easier to hold stores accountable if they try to sell illegally flavored products.

Flavored tobacco products have been shown to attract young people and make it easier for tobacco companies to hook new users. Removing most flavored products from shelves is a key part of stopping tobacco addiction before it starts.

What This Means for the Tobacco Endgame

The tobacco endgame is a long-term public health goal to dramatically reduce tobacco use and deaths from tobacco-related disease. The endgame focuses on reducing the supply and appeal of tobacco products so fewer people start smoking or vaping and more people quit. The Unflavored Tobacco List is a policy tool that moves California closer to that outcome. By removing flavored products that appeal especially to youth and young adults, this law helps shrink the market for tobacco and supports healthier communities.

READ FULL ARTICLE HERE

Request for Application (RFA) 26-10022, Statewide Priority Population Coordinating Center. The purpose of this RFA is to fund one (1) Statewide Priority Population Coordinating Center (PPCC), to coordinate and foster interactive and integrative collaboration and communication among CDPH/CTPP-funded projects, as well as other state, regional, and local partners to address tobacco-related disparities. 

Deadline to apply is February 5, 2026.

TOT Grant Program Now Open

The Sacramento County Board of Supervisors has announced the FY 2026–27 Transit Occupancy Tax (TOT) Grant Program, offering $1 million in funding to eligible nonprofit organizations serving Sacramento County. Since 2017, this program has supported community-based efforts in economic development, arts and culture, community development, and health and human services.

Application period: January 5–February 6, 2026. Applications must be submitted online through the TOT Grant Portal.

AB-762 Disposable, battery-embedded vapor inhalation device: prohibition. (Irwin and Wilson)

AB 762 would prohibit, beginning January 1, 2027, a person from importing or manufacturing for sale in this state a new or refurbished disposable, battery-embedded vapor inhalation device and beginning January 1, 2028 prohibit a person from selling, distributing, or offering for sale a new or refurbished disposable, battery-embedded vapor inhalation device in this state, including both nicotine and cannabis devices. It would authorize cities, counties, cities and counties, or the state to impose civil liability on a person or entity of $500 for the first violation up to $2,00 for the third and subsequent violations. A person who violates the law is guilty of an infraction punishable of a fine up to $500. It gives the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration (CDTFA) authority to suspend or revoke a license from licensed tobacco retailers and the Department of Cannabis Control (DCC) to suspend or revoke a license from a licensed cannabis retailer who sells this prohibited product.

Status: 1/14/2026 Read second time and amended. Re-referred to the Assembly Committee on Appropriations.

AB-957 Cigarette and tobacco products: retail sale: pharmacies. (Ortega)

AB 957 would prohibit CDTFA from issuing a licensed pharmacy in California a Cigarette and Tobacco Products Retailer's License and prohibit the sale of tobacco products from all licensed pharmacies in California.

Status: 7/7/2025 Motion to Reconsider granted in the Senate Business, Professions and Economic Development committee in 2026.

SB-758 Public health: kratom and nitrous oxide. (Umberg)

SB 759 would prohibit a tobacco retailer from selling nitrous oxide in any retail location and would place 7-hydroxymitragynine (kratom) on the Schedule I list, except as it naturally occurs in the plant Mitragyna speciosa.

Status: 1/14/2026 Amended. 1/20/2026 Senate Appropriations hearing.



For more information, please contact Marilyn Homan , (916) 552-8268

CONNECT WITH US!

SAVING OUR LEGACY: African Americans for Smoke-Free Safe Places

www.thesolproject.com | 888-774-7685, x300