Photo via Wikimedia Commons
Beginning July 14, tobacco retailers in San Diego County will start paying a licensing fee that will fund and ensure strong enforcement of the tobacco retail license ordinance that took effect in July 2021.
The measure requires annual permits, as well as annual monitoring, and sets penalties such as fines, license suspension,on, and revocation for non-compliant retailers.
“The San Diego County Board of Supervisors have already enacted one of the strongest tobacco retail licensing programs in Southern California. The new license fee ensures that the program can be sustainably and equitably enforced. It also holds bad actors accountable for illegally selling tobacco to youth, protecting them from a potential lifetime of tobacco addiction.
“Tobacco retailers are more common in limited-income communities and communities of color, which already face a disparate burden in tobacco-related diseases, including cancer. Fully funding this program through fees paid by retailers, instead of San Diego taxpayers, is a best practice that will provide sustainable support for the critical monitoring and enforcement that is needed to help reduce tobacco use and address health disparities,” said Lynda Barbour, American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network Southern California government relations director.
Since 2001, as the American Cancer Society’s nonprofit, nonpartisan advocacy affiliate, ACS CAN have advocated for billions of dollars in cancer research funding, expanded access to affordable health care, and made workplaces, including restaurants and bars, smoke-free.
More information about the Cancer Society’s efforts can be found here: www.fightcancer.org.