Hollister council members Monday expressed unanimous support for an idea to ban tobacco-related sales in local pharmacies.
The move, if made official, would make Hollister the first city in the Central Coast region to implement such a ban.
Council members Monday heard from Dr. Anju Goel, the county’s public health officer, and other advocates for policies banning tobacco-related sales in pharmacies.
Goel said there were seven pharmacies in Hollister and three of them have independently decided not to sell tobacco products. She and Mayor Ignacio Velazquez last week honored Nob Hill in Hollister for its decision to pull tobacco products from shelves starting in February.
Council members heard a report and testimony, but it was not an official action item. They directed the city attorney to start drafting language for an ordinance to consider at a later meeting. They did, however, express unanimous support for the idea.
That came after Goel and others spoke. The health officer said a half-million people die every year from tobacco-related illness and that tobacco-related issues cost California about $18 billion annually. She said selling tobacco products contradicts pharmacies’ mission.
“Pharmacies are a place people go to seek treatment and care,” Goel said.
Anti-tobacco groups from other counties showed up to speak, as did local students, some who came with signs.
“Making this change in Hollister can reduce the risk of children in the future,” said Yasmeen Diaz, a sophomore from San Benito High School.
One council member, Victor Gomez, was reluctant before supporting the idea. He said as former owner of a local Papa Murphy’s pizza shop, he may have sold more than 100,000 pizzas and likely “contributed to quite a bit of clogged arteries in my days.”
“That’s the free will of people,” he said. “Honestly, I don’t like to restrict business.”
He went on: “Oddly enough, I think I’m bending to the argument of it being exposed to children. This is on the record. So I will be supporting this.”
