By Khalida Sarwari
The Saratoga City Council agreed to bring back a couple of potential ordinances that target the sale and use of tobacco and tobacco products for discussion and a public hearing later this year.
At its first meeting of the year on Jan. 21, the council began a preliminary discussion about a possible future tobacco retailer licensing ordinance and establishing e-cigarette regulations. The discussion culminated in the council voting 5-0 to return to the issue at a later date and allow the public to weigh in on the matter.
Mayor Howard Miller and former Councilman Chuck Page initially brought up the issue in November, requesting that the council consider including e-cigarettes in the city’s regulations that address the sale and use of tobacco products. Currently, there are seven retailers in Saratoga that sell tobacco or tobacco products.
“The reason I wanted the licensing thing was that it does give us a way to regulate and set expectations for these seven retailers, and even though there are only seven, having clear regulations that are current seem to matter,” Miller said.
Although no decisions were made at the meeting, Councilwoman Emily Lo said she supports regulating not just e-cigarettes but all flavored tobacco products such as vapors.
“I think in light of protecting public health and to curb smoking among minors, it is a good thing to include e-cigarettes into our existing regulations,” said Lo.
Last year, the Tobacco Free Coalition of Santa Clara County and Community Advocate Teens of Today, in partnership with the Santa Clara County Public Health Department, awarded Saratoga its highest marks in tobacco-control efforts among cities in Santa Clara County. But before this rating was released, officials from the health department met with city staff and suggested recommendations for improving Saratoga’s tobacco control policies, one of which was to consider the adoption of a tobacco retailer licensing ordinance.
A number of communities in the state report that tobacco retailer licensing laws have resulted in a decline in tobacco product sales, according to a city staff report. Among those communities are Contra Costa and Sacramento counties and the cities of Berkeley, San Francisco, San Luis Obispo and Davis.
In Santa Clara County, the cities of Campbell, Gilroy, Morgan Hill and San Jose have adopted tobacco retailer licensing laws. Santa Clara County’s tobacco retailer regulations include limitations on where tobacco retailers may be located and prohibits retailers from being located within 1,000 feet of a school or 500 feet from an existing retailer. The county also prohibits retailers from covering more than 15 percent of their window space with signage of any sort or selling flavored tobacco products.
In addition, several jurisdictions have adopted ordinances that include e-cigarettes in tobacco regulations, including Santa Clara County, Cupertino and Sunnyvale.
“This is a chance for us to define a permit,” Miller said of Saratoga. “Hopefully it wouldn’t be expensive; hopefully the process would be pretty straightforward. But it would let us clearly articulate and define our expectations.”
Last year, the county’s public health department received a $1.9 million grant to address chronic health issues, such as tobacco use and exposure to secondhand smoke. The county is expected to make a portion of this grant available to cities that are developing a tobacco retailer licensing or e-cigarette ordinance.
Link: Council considers establishing a tobacco retailer licensing ordinance
