Healdsburg City Officials Ban Tobacco Sales To Anyone Under 21
HEALDSBURG (KCBS) — The Healdsburg City Council passed an ordinance Tuesday night that will ban the sale of tobacco products to anyone under the age of 21 making it the first city in California to do so.
The Santa Rosa Press Democrat reports the city council voted 4-1 this week to pass the ordinance, which came at the urging of doctors and the American Lung Association
The new rule raises the age from 18 to 21 for a person to purchase cigarettes and other tobacco products. It also includes electronic cigarettes.
The ordinance is scheduled to take effect in early December, and will require the city's tobacco retailers to obtain a special city license of about $450 annually to pay for enforcement and monitoring by the Police Department.
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While health experts welcome the move, businesses that sell cigarettes and other tobacco products disagree. Sellers say those would-be customers will just get their cigarettes in other nearby cities.
Casting the dissenting vote was Councilman Gary Plass, who argued that the city is opening itself up to lawsuits from the tobacco industry and retailers.
Healdsburg, in Sonoma County, has a population of about 11,000 people.
