Council Backs Tobacco License Proposal

Source from:  Wednesday, September 12, 2007 By DAN LEE The Press-Enterprise  09/13/2007

Retailers who want to sell cigarettes, cigars and chewing tobacco may soon have to obtain a city license aimed at discouraging sales to minors. The City Council tentatively approved a new law Tuesday requiring storeowners to pay an annual $350 fee to obtain a license to sell tobacco products. The law would also require retailers to display the license publicly and to verify the age of customers who appear 27 or younger. Robert Peterson, coordinator of the Tobacco Licensing Program for the Riverside County Department of Public Health, said licensing laws have cut sales to minors drastically statewide. They work just like laws controlling the sale of alcoholic beverages, he said. "If you have a license to lose, that's a tremendous financial incentive," Peterson told the council. The council is expected to give final approval to the ordinance later this month. The law would go into effect at the end of October. About 44 percent of businesses countywide sell tobacco products illegally to minors, based on statistics collected through decoy programs, Peterson said. The county Board of Supervisors enacted a licensing law in September 2005, and county public health officials had asked cities to pass similar laws. Cities that have passed the law include Banning, Beaumont, Corona, Murrieta, Riverside and San Jacinto. The number of merchants selling tobacco to minors has since dropped from 27 percent to 5 percent in Murrieta and from31 percent to no sales in Corona, Peterson said. The law would require retailers to obtain a license for each site where they sell tobacco products. The license is not transferable to another owner. County health officials will enforce the law. Failure to obtain a license would result in a fine and a temporary ban on selling tobacco products, Peterson said. Violations could result in fines ranging from $250 to $1,000 for the first offense and increasing with multiple offenses. Officials also would revoke a retailer's license. Enditem