12 - Laserfiche WebLink

Federal and state regulations. Tobacco is a heavily-regulated area of state and federal law. Under U.S. and California law, persons under the age of 21 may not legally purchase tobacco or e-cigarettes; within California, tobacco retailers must be licensed, and penalties may be imposed for retailers who sell to underage customers. The State also has a long-standing settlement agreement with the tobacco industry that strictly limits types and locations of tobacco advertisements, among other restrictions. New federal and state laws for tobacco products, and particularly electronic cigarettes, are being adopted or considered. In January, 2020, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) published guidance in the Federal Register to prohibit the sale of flavored e- cigarette products, exempting tobacco and menthol flavors.3 In California, SB 793 will be considered in the 2020 legislative session, to more broadly prohibit flavored cigarettes, cigars, chewing tobacco, and hookah tobacco, as well as menthol and flavored e-cigarettes and other vaping systems. Tobacco Stores and Tobacco Retailers. The proposed ordinance, and this agenda report, define retail tobacco locations in two categories: • A "tobacco store" is a retail business primarily selling tobacco products as described above in the Cal. Business and Professions Code §22962 (i.e. primarily selling tobacco products, with over 60% of revenue derived from such sales). And, persons must be at least 18 to enter. Based on Pleasanton Business License and Cal. Dept. of Tax and Fee Administration (CDTFA) records, there are four (4) tobacco stores in Pleasanton. • A "tobacco retailer" is a retail business where the sale of tobacco products is incidental to other retail sales. For example, a grocery store, pharmacy, convenience store or gas station can sell tobacco products as a small portion of overall store sales. Based on CDTFA records for state-licensed cigarette and tobacco products retailers, there are 37 tobacco retailers in Pleasanton. Cross- checking that CDTFA data with sales-tax information from the City's Finance Department added 12 more, for a total of approximately 49 tobacco retailers.4 Public health data. At four meetings in 2019, the Youth Commission received information and discussed underage use of tobacco products. The following data was provided to the Commission by Alameda County Dept. of Public Health's Tobacco Control Program regarding Underage Tobacco Users in Alameda County: The proposed federal rule could be lifted if companies demonstrate to the FDA that e-cigarette flavored pods/cartridges are safe. This applies to cartridge-based e-cigarettes, but exempts tank-based vaping devices (which allow users to mix customized flavors). County staff advised that the CDTFA on-line licensee lists can omit small retailers. Attachment 9 includes a list of tobacco retailers with CDTFA licenses, tobacco stores [in bold] from City business license records, as well as liquor stores, convenience stores and small markets which may sell tobacco products.