Two California Cities Ban Tobacco Sales

January 8, 2021

Par: National Committee Against Smoking

Dernière mise à jour: January 8, 2021

Temps de lecture: 4 minutes

On January 1, 2021, Beverly Hills and Manhattan Beach, California implemented a complete ban on the sale of all tobacco products. Both cities have planned a phase-out period to allow retailers to adapt and help people who smoke quit.

The two cities of 35,000 inhabitants, located in the Los Angeles region, have become the only jurisdictions in the United States to eliminate the sale of tobacco, although other jurisdictions are seriously considering it, according to the American NGO Action for Smoking and Health (ASH US).

In Beverly Hills, the ban was adopted by the city council in June 2019 but includes an exemption for three upscale lounges in the city where cigars can be smoked, as well as a limited exemption for hotels. The Manhattan Beach proposal does not include such an exemption. By the time the ban was approved, both cities had already enacted ordinances banning smoking in all public places, including multi-family dwellings, and those cities already banned the sale of flavored tobacco and nicotine products.

ASH US calls the decision a historic one in tobacco control and public health, and believes it should serve as an example for other cities across the United States.[1]For the members of the municipal councils of these cities, this ban is the logical continuation of the previous measures taken regarding the ban on smoking in public spaces and on flavored tobacco products.

Anti-smoking policy attacked by tobacco industry

California has long been at the forefront of anti-smoking legislation in the country. The state already has one of the lowest smoking rates in the country (11%)[2], just behind Utah (9%)[3]Measures have been strengthened in recent years, both at the state and city levels.

In 2020, California became the second state to pass a policy banning the sale of menthol cigarettes and the fourth state to pass a policy banning the sale of flavored e-cigarettes. However, the tobacco industry is lobbying heavily in the state, particularly in response to this latest decision.[4]. Tobacco companies spent $21 million to collect one million signatures for a petition to challenge the legislation and put it to a referendum in California’s upcoming gubernatorial election in November 2022. On December 10, California courts agreed to delay the law’s effective date from January 1, 2021, pending verification of the validity of the signatures. Public health groups have filed a complaint with the state attorney general, demanding an investigation into the illegal signature-gathering tactics.[5].

Keywords: California, Tobacco Sales Ban,