HomeMy WebLinkAbout42051
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Ordinance No. 42051
AN ORDINANCE OF
THE
COUNTY
OF
BUTTE ADDING ARTICLE
VII, ENTITLED
"LIMITATIONS
TO
ACCESS
TO
TOBACCO PRODUCTS" TO
CHAPTER 15
ENTITLED "OFFENSES -MISCELLANEOUS," OF THE BUTTE COUNTY CODE
IThe Board of Supervisors of the County of Butte ordains as
Ifollows:
Section 1. Article VII of Chapter 15 is added to the Butte
County Code as follows:
ARTICLE VII. - LIMITATIONS TO ACCESS TO TOBACCO PRODUCTS
115-180 Purpose and findings.
The protection of the public welfare requires that
potential access by minors to all forms of tobacco products be
strictly regulated.
Harvard University and the National Institute on Drug Abuse
have reported that the nicotine in tobacco is a powerful, habit-
forming drug that leads to compulsive use, and produces strong
withdrawal symptoms. The U. S. Public Health Service has
described nicotine addiction as the most widespread example of
drug dependence in our country.
Studies have found that nicotine addiction typically begins
lain childhood. It is estimated that thousands of American
children smoke for the first time every day. Many youth,
particularly male teenagers, use smokeless tobacco. Reported
studies have shown that minors as young as 11 years of age have
experienced little or no difficulty in purchasing tobacco
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products.
The purpose of this article is to reduce the likelihood of
minors obtaining tobacco products in the unincorporated area of
the County of Butte by regulating the potential sources of
tobacco products.
15-181. Definitions.
The following definitions shall govern construction of this
article:
(a) "Business" means a fixed location, whether indoors or
outdoors, at which merchandise is offered for sale at
retail.
(b) "Minor" means any person under 21 years of age.
(c) "Retailer" means a person who engages in the sale of
cigarettes or tobacco products directly to the public
from a retail location. Retailer includes a person who
operates vending machines from which cigarettes or
tobacco products are sold.
(d) "Retail location" means both of the following:
(1) Any building from which cigarettes or tobacco
products are sold at retail.
(2) A vending machine.
(e) "Self-service displays" means open displays of tobacco
products and e -cigarettes and point-of-sale tobacco and e -
cigarette promotional products that the public has access
to without the intervention of a store employee.
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(f) "Tobacco product" means:
(1) A product containing, made from, or derived from
tobacco or that contains synthetically produced
nicotine, that is intended for human consumption,
whether smoked, heated, chewed, absorbed, dissolved,
inhaled, snorted, sniffed, or ingested by any other
means, including, but not limited to, cigarettes,
cigars, little cigars, chewing tobacco, pipe tobacco,
or snuff;
(2) An electronic device that delivers nicotine or
other vaporized liquids to the person inhaling from
the device, including, but not limited to, an
electronic cigarette, cigar, pipe, or hookah; or
(3) Any component, part, or accessory of a tobacco
product, whether or not sold separately.
Tobacco products do not include products approved by
the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for sale as a tobacco
cessation product or for other therapeutic purposes where the
product is marketed and sold solely for such an approved
purpose.
(g) "Vendor --assisted" means only a store owner or employee
shall have access to the tobacco product or e -cigarette and
assist the customer by supplying the product or e -
cigarette. The customer may not take possession of the
product or e -cigarette until after it is purchased.
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115-182 Identification required.
No retailer or vendor shall sell or permit to be sold
cigarettes, other tobacco products or e -cigarettes to an
individual without requesting and examining photographic
identification establishing the purchaser's age as 21 years or
greater, unless the vendor or employee has a reasonable basis in
fact to know the buyer is over the age of 21.
15-183 Vendor -assisted sales.
(a) It is unlawful for any person, business or tobacco
retailer to sell, permit to be sold, offer for sale or display
for sale any tobacco product or e -cigarette by means of a self-
service display rack or shelf that allows self-service sales or
any means other than vendor -assisted sales.
(b) All tobacco products and e -cigarettes shall be
displayed and offered for sale exclusively by means of
vendor/employee assistance, with tobacco products or e -
cigarettes in a location which requires vendor or employee
assistance to retrieve the tobacco product or e -cigarette.
15-184 Out -of -package sales.
No person, business, tobacco retailer, or other
establishment shall sell or offer for sale cigarettes, other
tobacco products or e -cigarettes not in the original packaging
provided by the manufacturer and with all required health
warnings.
15-185 Posting of signs.
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Any person, business, tobacco retailer, or other
establishment that sells tobacco products or e -cigarettes shall
post plainly visible signs at the point of purchase of tobacco
products or e -cigarettes which comply with Business and
Professions Code section 22952. All letters of the sign shall be
lat least one-half inch high or larger.
15-186 Display of license.
All tobacco retailers shall conspicuously display their
license issued by the State Board of Equalization pursuant to
the Cigarette and Tobacco Products Licensing Act of 2003 at each
retail location in a manner visible to the public.
15-187 Enforcement; compliance monitoring.
This article shall be enforced and monitored by the Public
Health Department and the Department of Development Services,
Code Enforcement Division. Such monitoring may include
compliance checks and the use of youth decoys pursuant to
procedures adopted by the departments to include, but not
limited to, the following:
(a) Persons under 21 years of age may be used in random
inspections to determine if sales of cigarettes or other tobacco
products are being made to persons under 21 years of age.
(b) A photograph or video recording of the person under 21
years of age shall be taken prior to each inspection or shift of
inspections and retained by code enforcement for the purpose of
verifying appearances.
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(c) Code enforcement officers may use video recording
equipment when conducting the inspections to record and document
illegal sales or attempted sales.
(d) The person under 21 years of age, if questioned about
their age, need not state their actual age but shall present a
true and correct identification if verbally asked to present it.
Any failure on the part of the person under 21 years of age to
provide true and correct identification, if verbally asked for
it, shall be a defense to an action pursuant to this article.
(e) The person under 21 years of age shall be under the
supervision of a code enforcement officer during the inspection
when enforcement is taking place. When compliance checks are
taking place, the person under 21 years of age will be under the
supervision of a Butte County Public Health Tobacco Program
staff member or the code enforcement officer.
(f) All persons under 21 years of age used in this manner
shall display the appearance of a person under 21 years of age.
It shall be a defense to an action under this article that the
person's appearance was not that which generally could be
expected of a person under 21 years of age, under the actual
circumstances presented to the seller of the cigarettes or other
tobacco products at the time of the alleged offense.
(g) Following the completion of the sale, the code
enforcement officer accompanying the person under 21 years of
age shall reenter the retail establishment and shall inform the
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seller of the random inspection. Following an attempted sale,
the code enforcement officer shall notify the retail
establishment of the inspection.
(h) Failure to comply with the procedures set forth in this
section shall be a defense to an action brought pursuant to this
Iarticle.
15-188 Violation; penalties.
Any person who violates any provision of this article shall
be guilty of an infraction punishable by:
(a) A fine, not exceeding one hundred dollars ($100.00),
for a first violation;
(b) A fine, not exceeding two hundred dollars ($200.00),
jfor a second violation of this article within any consecutive
twelve (12) month period; and
(c) A fine, not exceeding five hundred dollars ($500.00),
for each additional violation of this article within any
consecutive twelve (12) month period.
Section 2. Severability. If any provision of this Ordinance or
the application thereof to any person or circumstances is for
any reason held to be invalid by a court of competent
jurisdiction, such provision shall be deemed severable, and the
invalidity thereof shall not affect the remaining provisions or
other applications of the Ordinance which can be given effect
without the invalid provision or application thereof.
Section 3. Effective Date and Publication. This Ordinance shall
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take effect thirty (30) days after the date of its passage. The
Clerk of the Board of Supervisors is authorized and directed to
publish this Ordinance before the expiration of fifteen (15)
days after its passage. This Ordinance shall be published once,
with the names of the members of the Board of Supervisors voting
for and against it, in a newspaper of general circulation
published in the County of Butte, State of California.
PASSED AND ADOPTED by the Board of Supervisors of the County of
Butte, State of California, on the 10th day of August, 2021, by
the following vote:
AYES: Supervisors Lucero, Ritter, Kimmelshue, Teeter and Chair
Connelly
NOES: None
ABSENT: None
Bill Connelly, Char
Butte County Board of Supervisors
ATTEST:
Andy Pickett, Chief Administrative Officer
and Clerk of the Board
By:
Deputy
I