Bars in the unincorporated areas of San Luis Obispo County would not be allowed to sell tobacco products if an ordinance revised by supervisors Tuesday wins final approval Sept. 16.

The provision banning tobacco sales in bars was not part of the original tobacco sales licensing ordinance scheduled for a public hearing Tuesday but was added on the motion of 4th District Supervisor Katcho Achadjian.

Because the language was added during the hearing Tuesday, the ordinance will not have to be reintroduced at a future meeting, then rescheduled for another public hearing before it can be adopted.

Achadjian asked to have the ban on bar sales added at the recommendation of Susan Hughes, program manager for the county's Tobacco Control Program, and the request of 2nd District Supervisor Bruce Gibson.

Hughes said because tobacco advertising and marketing has become so restricted, the tobacco companies are targeting 18- to 24-year-olds through “bar night” promotions.

“The bar provision makes a lot of sense,” said Steve Hampton of the county Tobacco Control Coalition, who called “bar night” promotions a “festering problem.”

He said tobacco company representatives hand out samples and promotional items at bars and scan driver licenses. That information is then entered into databases, which allow the companies to send promotional materials to the license holders.

Advertisement

Hampton said the ordinance will help

prevent young people from getting addicted to chemicals that are still the leading cause of preventable disease.

Hughes said the rest of the ordinance is aimed at preventing the sale of tobacco products to minors by requiring retail merchants to obtain a county license to sell tobacco.

She noted when similar ordinances were enacted in Berkeley, Banning and Riverside, the percentage of illegal sales to minors dropped from 38 to 19 percent,

71 to 21 percent and 65 to zero percent, respectively.

She noted San Luis Obispo, Arroyo Grande and Grover Beach have already enacted tobacco license laws in their cities.

Under the county ordinance, merchants would pay a $341.95 annual fee for the license, which Hughes said only covers the direct cost of administering and enforcing the program.

Business owners where tobacco is sold illegally to minors would face revocation or suspension of their licenses, civil action by the District Attorney's Office or county counsel and fines ranging from $200 to $1,000 per violation.

“We think the owners are responsible for what is done in their stores,” Hughes said.

Currently, a total of 78 retailers would be subject to the county ordinance. Of those, 32 are located in the South County areas of Nipomo, rural Arroyo Grande, Oceano and Avila Beach.

Hughes' report did not indicate how many bars might be banned from selling tobacco products if the revised ordinance is approved.

One person spoke against the ordinance during Tuesday's hearing. Gary Fowler, of San Luis Obispo, pledged to lobby friends and the Legislature to block grant money from coming into the county.

“The proposed ordinance is unwanted by the business community, unnecessary for law enforcement and unwise in this economic time,” Fowler told the supervisors.

He pointed out minors can buy tobacco products over the Internet, in Mexico and at military base exchanges.

“This is nothing more than extortion on some businesses to raise money for a county entity to pay overtime ... and for stings ... that are justified in their estimation,” he said.

Fowler said he would try to block grant funding for the county because much of the grant funds received is diverted into the Tobacco Control Program, which should have “more than enough money to fund enforcement without going out after the business community.”

He asked the board to table the ordinance to give individuals who are not in either the business community nor the Tobacco Control Program a chance to review the proposal.

Instead, the board voted 5-0 to add the provision banning tobacco sales at bars and scheduled the ordinance for a public hearing and potential adoption Sept. 16.

August 28, 2008