San Mateo approves plan for stricter tobacco sale restrictions
SAN MATEO - The San Mateo County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday to strengthen regulations intended to prevent children and young adults from buying tobacco products.
The ordinance increases permit fees, fines and inspections of retail shops and requires permit suspensions for businesses that sell tobacco products to anyone younger than 21.
"We need to put teeth into enforcement for two big reasons: one is that we need to make the penalty large enough to negate the profit in selling to minors. And two, we need to do everything we can to keep cigarettes and other tobacco products out of the hands of kids," said Supervisor Warren Slocum.
The new rules, which were proposed by the San Mateo County Health Department, increase fines up to $500 for a first violation and up to $1,000 for all subsequent violations within a 60-month period and prohibit new tobacco sales permits for locations within 1,000 feet of a "youth populated area" like schools and parks or within 500 feet of an existing tobacco retailer.
They also require a fine for any violations, increase the number of required on-site inspections of shops that sell tobacco to two a year and increase the annual permit fee to sell tobacco from $174 to $672.
According to the county Health Department, 11 of 74 tobacco retailers, or about 15 percent of shops, in unincorporated San Mateo County sold to underage youth decoys during Sheriff's Office enforcement operations from April 2021 to June 2022.
"Big Tobacco has preyed on our youth with flavored products like bubblegum and cotton candy for years," Supervisor David 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."
The new ordinance only applies to unincorporated areas of the county, but county officials said in a news release Tuesday they will encourage cities within the county to follow suit.