By Khalida Sarwari
Saratoga will soon have an ordinance that targets the sale and use of tobacco and tobacco products.
The Saratoga City Council voted unanimously on June 3 to introduce and waive the first reading of an ordinance establishing a tobacco retailer license that regulates e-cigarettes, while holding off on making a decision regarding flavored tobacco products such as vapors. For Saratoga retailers, the adoption of this ordinance means that they’d be required to obtain a special license to sell tobacco products, paraphernalia and electronic smoking devices.
None of the seven retailers in Saratoga that sell tobacco or tobacco products have violated any city laws pertaining to the sale of tobacco products to youth.
“I’m obviously in favor of our businesses and protecting their revenue,” Councilman Rishi Kumar said. “I think that is very important to me because many of our businesses in Saratoga, they struggle … but I’m more inclined to protect our youth.”
Councilwoman Mary-Lynne Bernald said she knows firsthand the dangers of smoking, having had parents who both smoked and one who ultimately died of lung cancer.
“I feel that this ordinance is a step in the right direction,” said Bernald. “I’m going to say it … the retailers need this money, [but] it’s blood money as far as I’m concerned. That’s my history and that’s where I come from, so I feel very strongly about it.”
If the ordinance is adopted, the tobacco retailer license would carry a one-year term and be administered in the same manner as the business license program. It would go into effect in October.
The ordinance prohibits the use of self-service displays for tobacco products, paraphernalia or electronic smoking devices. Underage employees would no longer be permitted to sell these items to customers.
Violating the ordinance carries fines and penalties for retailers. The first citation within a one-year period would make a retailer ineligible for a new tobacco retailer license and suspend any existing license for 30 days. Two or more citations within a year would result in the revocation of any existing license, and no license could be issued for one year.
The consensus among the seven retailers–which include two 76 gas stations, Safeway, The Bank, Valero and Stop N Save–is that the proposed fees for the new license applications and renewals are too high.
About a handful of people showed up to speak in favor of the ordinance. Carol Baker, a volunteer ambassador for the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, was one of them.
“This ordinance can help prevent kids in our community from ever taking up this deadly addiction,” Baker said. “The use of e-cigarettes by youth has become an epidemic. More teens are using e-cigarettes than traditional cigarettes, and I implore you to realize that this is a monster you cannot let get out of the box; you will never get it back in if you do.”
Santa Clara County has already adopted a tobacco ordinance that includes e-cigarettes, as have the cities of Campbell, Gilroy, Morgan Hill and San Jose. The county’s tobacco regulations prohibit retailers from being located within 1,000 feet of a school or 500 feet from another tobacco 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.
The council in January began discussing laying the groundwork for a tobacco retailer licensing ordinance and establishing e-cigarette regulations.
The ordinance is expected to be adopted at the next council meeting on June 17.
