Santa Clara County is significantly increasing penalties for businesses that sell tobacco products to minors or retail illicit tobacco products as part of a strategy to protect public health and prevent youth addiction to nicotine.

Tuesday's action by the Board of Supervisors supports the county's tobacco retail licensing program, which prohibits retailers from selling any tobacco products to anyone under the age of 21. The plan also prohibits retailers from selling e-cigarettes and flavored tobacco products, including menthol cigarettes and e-liquids, to anyone, regardless of age.

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Enhanced enforcement of the scheme includes a substantial increase in fines - from 10 times to 25 times - and the permanent suspension of offenders' licenses to operate.

The updated ordinance will take effect Oct. 13 for tobacco retailers in unincorporated Santa Clara County. The changes must be approved by the three partner cities of the county's tobacco retail licensing program -- Cupertino, Los Gatos and Palo Alto -- before they can take effect there.

There are 54 permitted tobacco retailers in Cupertino, Los Gatos and Palo Alto, and 13 in unincorporated Santa Clara County. Most tobacco retailers in the county are in compliance with the law, according to the county. Updates to the ordinance are expected to improve compliance and reduce recidivism.

County Executive Joe Simitian, who proposed the changes, said he hoped the fines "serve as a real deterrent and really help keep people legal."

"Businesses often view lower-level fines as a cost of doing business and then continue to break the law," said Simitian, who chairs the county's health and hospital board. "My hope and expectation is that tighter fines and stricter enforcement will change that. All this. If we acted faster and revoke the sales licenses of frequent violators, the 'problem suppliers' would have this information."

The revised decree provides for the following penalties for violating the TRP's allowing retailers to sell tobacco products to persons under the age of 21 or sell illegal tobacco products:

Penalties for Permitted Businesses Violating the Tobacco Retail Licensing Scheme

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The decree also increases penalties for businesses that sell tobacco products without a valid tobacco retail license:

Penalties for businesses selling tobacco products without a license

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The county isn't the only state with tougher penalties for illegal tobacco sales. For example, the city of San Jose has imposed fines of up to $2,500.

"Santa Clara County is a national leader in protecting residents from the harmful consequences of smoking," said Otto Lee, vice chair and superintendent of the Board of Directors' Health and Hospitals Committee. "We are constantly evaluating new research and data to formulate the strongest and most effective policies to control the sale of tobacco products."

The county manages programs in unincorporated areas and partner cities. The county environmental health department conducts routine inspections of businesses every year and issues licenses. The sheriff's office and local law enforcement in partner cities also conduct undercover inspections of permitted retailers using youth bait.

In September and December 2021, when the Sheriff's Office conducted enforcement actions against 20 tobacco retailers, they issued warnings to six retailers for illegal sales of tobacco products to citizens under the age of 21.

The 2019-20 California Student Tobacco Survey of Santa Clara County High School Students found that 1 in 12 students reported current use of tobacco products, primarily e-cigarettes. In this study, the majority of current tobacco users (93.1%) reported using flavored tobacco products. More than half of teens now report buying their own vaping products, and nearly a quarter of the group said they bought it directly from a store.

The use of tobacco products by minors disproportionately affects low-income communities and people of color. In the 2019-20 survey, more than 31 percent of Hispanic high school students said they had ever used tobacco products, the highest of any racial group. Stopping the illicit sale of tobacco products is one way to improve the public health of vulnerable populations.

Nicole Coxe, program manager of the Department of Public Health's Tobacco-Free Communities Initiative, said measures taken today to protect people from tobacco harms are disproportionately affected by low-income communities, LGBTQ individuals, Latinos and Africans due to targeted marketing by the tobacco industry. on people of ancestry. Teen smoking can lead to lifelong harmful addictions, and these steps help prevent young people from smoking.

The updated ordinance authorizes the Department of Environment to enter all areas of tobacco retail operations during inspections to ensure e-cigarettes and other prohibited products are not stored out of sight. If inspectors find illegal products, they now have the power to seize or seize them.

The Department of Public Health and Environmental Health will continue to educate business owners about the requirements of the TRP program to facilitate compliance.

"The county will be reaching out to business owners to ensure they are aware of prohibited products and increasing penalties for violations," said Rochelle Gaddi, interim director of the Department of Environmental Health. "It is a joint effort to protect the health of our entire community, especially ours. young people."

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