Q&A On New County Tobacco Ordinance

Beginning July 1st, 2021, the San Diego County’s newly enacted tobacco ordinance came into effect, impacting many local retailers. There are active legal challenges to combat this ordinance and other similar ordinances in California. In the meantime, The Voice sought to learn more about this new ordinance and its requirements:

QFirst, what geographic areas does this law impact? A The law impacts retailers operating in the

Unincorporated areas of San Diego County.

QWhat are some new requirements for tobacco sales?

AThe new law has many new requirements. Below are just some of them:  Tobacco products must be in their original packaging  For cigars costing less than $10 per cigar, they must be sold in a package with at least 6 cigars  Also, the price for a package of cigars must equal at least $5 per cigar  Little cigars or cigarillos must be sold in a package of at least 20 little cigars  The price for these packages of little cigars or cigarillos must be at least $10

QI keep hearing about applications for a new Tobacco Retail License: can you explain what that is?

ATobacco retailers must be licensed by the California

Department of Tax and Fee Administration. You should apply for this license ASAP. Starting in 2022, licenses will be limited based on proximity to other licensed retailers and based on the number of licenses already given. The County has created a maximum of 330 licensees. If there have been 330 licenses handed out by the end of 2021, no more licenses will be given starting 2022. Q When are inspections supposed to begin?

AThe County says unannounced decoy operations and

inspections will begin in October 2021.

QCan my 19-year-old employee sell tobacco products?

AYes, employees 18-20 years old may sell tobacco products without any supervision. If an employee is under 18 years old, they can only sell tobacco products if they are under the continuous supervision of a person 21 years of age or older.

QI sell many tobacco products at my stores, and there seems to be so many new requirements. What are the penalties if someone makes a mistake and violates this law?

AAfter the first violation within any 5-year period, your

license will be suspended for 30 days. A second violation within any 5-year period results in a 60-day license suspension. The third violation within any 5-year period will result in a 90-day suspension. A fourth violation within any 5-year period will cause your license to be revoked.

QIf I wanted to know more information about the full rules and details of the ordinance, where should I go?

APlease scan this QR code or go to the following url for all the new rules https://bit.ly/3ByBZqc