DALY CITY – San Mateo County Supervisor David J. Canepa made the following statement on Tuesday, Maty 9 after the Board of Supervisors passed an ordinance imposing mandatory fines and compliance checks for retailers who sell tobacco products to minors and banned and prohibited products such as e-cigarettes and flavored vape cartridges.
“Big Tobacco has preyed on our youth with flavored products like bubblegum and cotton candy for years,” Canepa said. “What we’ve done today is to tell our retailers that if you are caught selling to minors or selling banned flavored tobacco products you will be fined heavily. Because we know tobacco is a highly-profitable killer, the county will now conduct two mandatory compliance checks every year at every retail establishment that sells tobacco products. This is another huge step toward saving lives and creating a world free from harmful tobacco products that are purely poison.”
The ordinance updates definitions to align with similar model ordinances across California. For example, the “Tobacco Product” definition will now include synthetic nicotine, and align language, where appropriate, with the new statewide ban of flavored tobacco products.
It also restricts where new retailers may be located: no new Tobacco Retailer Permit will be issued to a location within 1,000 of a Youth-Populated Area, or within 500 feet of a location already occupied by another tobacco retailer. “Youth-Populated Areas” is updated to include college campuses.
It prohibits posting of advertisements offering tobacco products unless the retailer has a valid permit to sell tobacco products.
It increases the age for those who sell tobacco products to match the minimum age allowed to purchase tobacco under State law, currently 21 years old.
It increases fines up to five hundred dollars ($500) for the first violation, and up to one thousand dollars ($1,000) for all subsequent violations within a sixty (60) month period.
It requires that a permit be suspended if a business is found to have sold tobacco products to persons under the age of 21.
It requires two inspections per year of each tobacco retailer by an enforcement designee to monitor compliance with applicable laws.
It increases the permit suspension and revocation escalation period for cumulative violations from 12 months to 60 months.
It mandates a fine, at a minimum, for any violations pursuant to the ordinance.
(Supervisor Canepa’s Office Release)
