The company, Lucy Goods Inc., maintained it did nothing wrong and continued to dispute the city attorney’s claims, which were brought against it and three other companies in 2024, according to court documents.
By Bay City News Service
January 11, 2026- A company that sells nicotine pouches and other tobacco products online agreed to pay the city of San Francisco $1 million to resolve claims that it shipped flavored products to addresses in the city despite a local ban.
The other three companies already agreed to settlements totaling about $3 million to resolve the same allegations of shipping flavored tobacco products to San Francisco customers, according to a statement on Thursday from San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu’s Office.
Flavored tobacco products–including vape cartridges, nicotine pouches and menthol cigarettes–were banned under a local ordinance passed in 2017 that was affirmed by voters in 2018 in a local proposition.
The allegations against Lucy Goods Inc. primarily revolved around flavored oral nicotine pouches commonly referred to as “zyns” or “nics,” according to the City Attorney’s Office.
The company said in court papers it was settling the lawsuit to avoid a prolonged court battle. In addition to the payment, which covers penalties and attorneys fees for the City Attorney’s Office, the company agreed to a monitoring period.
Lucy Goods Inc. also agreed to post a message on its website notifying customers that the products were banned in San Francisco. An attempt to enter a San Francisco address for a flavored product following the announcement of the settlement brought up a message saying the product could not be shipped to that location, without mentioning the city by name.
Chiu said in a statement that flavored nicotine pouches have become increasingly popular, especially among young people, and that they can deliver as much as twice the amount of nicotine as cigarettes at a lower price.
“Online tobacco retailers are not above our laws and cannot ship banned products into our city. We hope this sends a clear message that selling these products will not be tolerated,” he said.
San Francisco Public Health Officer Dr. Susan Philip said the enforcement effort would protect the community from a growing health risk.
“Evidence shows flavored tobacco pouches pose a serious threat to public health, particularly among young people, as they can impact healthy development and lead to long-term health consequences,” said San Francisco Health Officer Dr. Susan Philip.
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