Starting Jan. 1, 2016, Santa Clara County will become the first county in California to raise the age to purchase tobacco and electronic smoking products from 18 to 21.
The ordinance, approved by the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors in June, applies to 17 retailers, markets and convenience stores in unincorporated areas of the county. Five of the affected tobacco retailers are located in South County. Retailers within the city limits of Morgan Hill or any other city in the county are not affected.
The purpose of the ordinance is to curtail youth smoking and prevent children from becoming addicted to tobacco at an early age, according to county staff.
“Our county continues to be a national leader in protecting the health of our residents, particularly our children and youth, from the harms of tobacco,” said Supervisor Ken Yeager, who initiated the county’s smoking, tobacco and e-cigarette product ordinances. “The new tobacco purchase age of 21 clearly puts the health of our youth before any special interests.”
In July, the Santa Clara County Public Health Department began notifying tobacco retailers of the new requirements that prohibit the sale and distribution of tobacco and electronic smoking products to anyone under age 21, and more recently through in-store education with store owners and/or employees in partnership with the Department of Environmental Health, county staff said.
Ordinance requirements of the county ordinance beginning Jan. 1:
• Retailers are required to post a notice of minimum age for the purchase of tobacco products and electronic smoking devices at each point of purchase. The notice will state that selling tobacco products and electronic smoking devices to anyone younger than 21 is illegal and subject to penalties;
• Positive identification will be required for purchases. No retailer shall sell or transfer a tobacco product or electronic smoking device to another person who appears to be younger than 30 without first examining the customer’s identification to confirm that the customer is at least the minimum age required to purchase and possess the tobacco product.
“Tobacco use is still the number one cause of preventable death in the United States, killing more than 480,000 people and costing about $170 billion in health care expenses each year,” said Sara Cody, M.D., County Health Officer and Director of the Santa Clara County Public Health Department.“Tobacco and e-cigarette use among teens and young adults remains a critical public health concern.”
It is estimated that 90 percent of tobacco users start before the age of 21, according to county staff. Roughly 80 percent of smokers first try tobacco before age 18, and 75 percent of teen smokers continue into their adult years. A recent report by the Institute of Medicine predicts that raising the minimum age for the sale of tobacco products to 21 may, over time, reduce the smoking rate by about 12 percent and smoking-related deaths by 10 percent.
Any store that violates the ordinance by selling tobacco or electronic smoking products to customers younger than 21 could be subject to fines and penalties established in 2011, county staff said. A first violation can cost a retailer $100 in fines and result in a suspension of their tobacco permit. The cost of fines and the length of license suspensions increase with each subsequent violation.
The following retailers in South County will be subject to the new ordinance:
• Coyote Discount Bait & Tackle, 8215 Monterey Rd., Coyote;
• Mama’s Market, 13305 Sycamore Ave., San Martin;
• Old Gilroy Service, 2035 Pacheco Pass Highway, Gilroy;
• Rocca’s Market, 13335 Monterey Rd., San Martin;
• San Martin Gas & Mart, 13235 Monterey Rd., San Martin.
In 2010, the board of supervisors adopted three tobacco prevention ordinances to reduce and prevent tobacco use among youth and others, and reduce exposure to secondhand smoke, county staff said. One of the ordinances, the Tobacco Retailer Permit Ordinance, requires all retailers in the unincorporated areas of the County to obtain and maintain an annual permit to sell tobacco products. The ordinance also restricts future retailers from operating within 1,000 feet of a school or 500 feet of an existing retailer.
In 2014, the county amended the current tobacco prevention policies to incorporate restrictions related to the use and sale of electronic smoking devices.
Most recently in February 2015, the county’s ordinance code provision prohibiting the sale of flavored tobacco products went into effect.
