California Bans Diet and Muscle Supplements for Under-18s

California Governor Gavin Newsom approved Assembly Bill 2030 on September 28, 2026, officially barring retail and online sales of over-the-counter diet pills and dietary supplements marketed for weight loss or muscle building to anyone under 18 years old. The legislation creates strict retail age-verification standards, requires remote vendors to confirm identities through commercial databases, and authorizes civil enforcement. This statutory shift marks California as the second state to impose explicit age safeguards on weight-loss and muscle-building retail products.

Key Takeaways

• California Governor Gavin Newsom signed AB 2030 on September 28, 2026, barring sales and promotional giveaways of OTC diet pills and weight-loss or muscle-building supplements to individuals under 18 without a prescription.
• Physical retailers must check identification, while remote and e-commerce sellers must verify age using government-sourced databases or mandate an adult signature with ID upon delivery.
• Covered items hinge on labeling claims, retailer grouping, and specific target ingredients including creatine, green tea extract, raspberry ketone, garcinia cambogia, and green coffee bean extract.
• Violations carry civil penalties up to $500 per infraction, enforceable with injunctions by the Attorney General, county counsel, or city attorneys.

What happened

On September 28, 2026, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 2030 into law. Authored by Assemblymember Josh Lowenthal, the bill was formally filed with the California Secretary of State on the same day and recorded as Chapter 720, Statutes of 2026. The bill cleared the Senate on August 26, 2026, by 31 votes to 2, and the Assembly concurred on August 27, 2026, by 61 votes to 6.

The chaptered bill text adds Health and Safety Code Section 109030. Under its provisions, no business or individual may sell, offer to sell, or distribute as a retail or wholesale promotion any over-the-counter diet pill or dietary supplement intended for weight loss or muscle building to anyone in California under 18 years of age without a valid medical prescription.

In his September 28, 2026, announcement, Governor Newsom highlighted the public health urgency behind the statute. The release said nonprescribed, medically unapproved weight-loss or muscle-building products "are too often mislabeled or tainted with harmful products, like steroids." The FDA has separately warned that some bodybuilding products may illegally contain steroids or steroid-like substances, and that many products sold for weight loss are likely to be contaminated with dangerous hidden ingredients. The Governor's release also said that nearly 1 in 10 adolescents have used these products, and that youth who take over-the-counter diet pills are six times more likely to be diagnosed with an eating disorder within three years compared to nonusers.

What changed

AB 2030 introduces clear statutory definitions alongside operational requirements for brick-and-mortar storefronts and digital e-commerce platforms. A dietary supplement for weight loss or muscle building is defined under the cross-reference to federal law, 21 U.S.C. Section 321(ff), covering any supplement labeled, marketed, or otherwise represented for the purpose of achieving weight loss or building muscle. Over-the-counter diet pills are defined as nonprescription drugs labeled, marketed, or represented for weight loss.

For brick-and-mortar stores, the law requires the store to request valid identification if it cannot reasonably determine that the prospective buyer appears to be under 18 years of age. Retailers may also limit access to those products "in a manner designed to prevent unauthorized access." The law does not say how.

Online retailers and other delivery sellers are barred from shipping these items to minors and must fulfill one of two age-assurance protocols:

• Verify the buyer's name, birth date, and address using a commercially available database sourced primarily from government records that is not controlled by the seller.
• Utilize a shipping and delivery method that requires an individual aged 18 or older to sign and display valid government photo identification upon arrival.

Enforcement is civil. A person who violates the section faces a civil penalty of no more than $500 per violation. These penalties, alongside injunctive relief, may be pursued by the California Attorney General, county counsel, or city attorneys, with prevailing plaintiffs entitled to recover reasonable attorney's fees.

Who is affected

The law directly affects dietary supplement manufacturers, distributors, physical pharmacy chains, fitness stores, grocers, and digital marketplaces operating or shipping within California. Consumers under the age of 18 are prohibited from purchasing covered items unless they possess a valid prescription from a licensed healthcare provider. The statute does not apply to transactions involving purchasers who are 18 years of age or older.

To determine whether a specific item falls within the scope of Health and Safety Code Section 109030, a court may evaluate several statutory factors. These include:

• Whether the product contains an FDA-approved weight-loss or muscle-building ingredient, a steroid, or any of five named ingredients: creatine, green tea extract, raspberry ketone, garcinia cambogia, or green coffee bean extract.
• Whether the product's packaging, labeling, marketing, or promotional materials express or imply that it will modify, maintain, or reduce body weight, body fat, appetite, or metabolism, or maintain or increase muscle or strength.
• Whether the retailer or online seller signs, categorizes or tags the product with such claims, or groups it with other weight-loss or muscle-building products in a display, advertisement, website or area of the store.

Some categories remain contested. The Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN) warned in its veto request that the framework could sweep in fiber and protein supplements, general wellness products and even multivitamins, NutraIngredients reported. The statutory text itself does not list protein powders as an automatic covered category, nor does it explicitly name caffeine-heavy pre-workout drinks. No state agency has published a list of covered products, so classification rests on labeling, marketing, store placement and the listed ingredients.

What it means for shoppers

The practical trigger is the label. A tub of creatine, a capsule with green tea extract, or any supplement that promises fat loss, appetite control, a faster metabolism or more muscle is the kind of product a court may treat as covered. In a store, a shopper who could pass for under 18 may be asked for ID when buying one.

Online, the seller has to use at least one of two checks: an age match against an outside, government-sourced database, or a delivery that an adult must sign for while showing photo ID.

For parents, the useful habit is reading the front-of-pack claims and the Supplement Facts panel together, because formulas differ between brands. AB 2030 was one of several health bills signed the same day; another means California Will Flag Sugary Restaurant Drinks With an Icon.

The background

Weight-loss products sold outside a prescription have drawn federal attention too, for example when the FDA Adds Tejocote Weight-Loss Products to Yellow Oleander Warning.

California is now the second state in the country to establish age limits on weight-loss and muscle-building supplements. New York enacted the nation's first restriction under New York General Business Law Section 391-oo, which officially took effect in April 2024.

After the signing, NutraIngredients reported on September 29, 2026, that CRN President and CEO Steve Mister called it "a deeply disappointing outcome for consumers and responsible businesses." The Consumer Healthcare Products Association (CHPA) said it remained concerned that the law's broad criteria could restrict access to supplements containing ingredients with legitimate uses beyond weight loss or muscle building. Additionally, CRN highlighted a literature review funded by the association which concluded that the "evidence to date does not support a causative role for dietary supplements in eating disorders."

What to watch next

While AB 2030 has been officially signed and chaptered into California law, key implementation milestones remain open. The chaptered text does not set its own operative date. No state agency has issued guidance on how retailers should sort borderline wellness products from covered ones.

Watch for how the Attorney General, county counsels and city attorneys use their enforcement power, and whether any court rules on what "implies" weight loss or muscle building means on a label. The state has not published data on how many California minors buy these products, and the FDA has not taken a public position on the law.