In an effort to curb smoking by local youth, Santa Clara County on Tuesday became the first county in California to raise the purchasing age for tobacco and electronic smoking products from 18 to 21.
The new ordinance, passed by a unanimous vote of the five-member Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors, takes effect Jan. 1, 2016. It will affect 25 stores in the unincorporated county areas that sell tobacco and electronic smoking products, according to county staff.
The law does not apply to sales in the city limits of the county’s 15 incorporated cities, including Gilroy and Morgan Hill.
A recent report by the Institute of Medicine predicts that raising the minimum age for the sale of tobacco products to 21 will, over time, reduce the smoking rate by about 12 percent and smoking-related deaths by 10 percent, county staff said.
“The alarming proliferation of e-cigarette use among youth as an alternative to tobacco products is a growing public health concern,” said Supervisor Ken Yeager, who initiated the county’s smoking, tobacco and e-cigarette product ordinances. “This targeting of youth is unacceptable and will have consequences for their health and wellbeing in the future.”
The March 2015 report by the Institute of Medicine concluded that adolescents are particularly vulnerable to the addictive effects of nicotine, and found that “the parts of the brain most responsible for decision making, impulse control, sensation seeking, future perspective taking, and peer susceptibility and conformity continue to develop and change through young adulthood. Adolescent brains are uniquely vulnerable to the effects of nicotine and nicotine addiction.”
“Increasing age restrictions for the sale of tobacco and electronic smoking products is a necessary action to address heavy use among teens and young adults,” said Board of Supervisors President Dave Cortese.
It is estimated that 90 percent of tobacco users start before age 21, roughly 80 percent first try tobacco before age 18, and 75 percent of teen smokers continue into their adult years, county staff added.
The new county ordinance will prohibit retailers in unincorporated areas of Santa Clara County from selling or distributing tobacco products and electronic smoking devices to anyone under age 21. Once the new ordinance goes into effect:
—Retailers will be required to post a notice of minimum age for purchase of tobacco products and electronic smoking devices at each point of purchase. The notice will state that selling tobacco products and electronic smoking devices to anyone under 21 years of age is illegal and subject to penalties.
—Positive identification will be required. No retailer shall sell or transfer a tobacco product or electronic smoking device to another person who appears to be under 30 years of age without first examining the customer’s identification to confirm that the customer is at least the minimum age required to purchase and possess the tobacco product.
Tobacco retailers in the unincorporated areas will be notified by letter of the changes to the county ordinance, according to county staff. All affected tobacco retailers will be provided with notification signs regarding the minimum age for purchase of tobacco products and electronic smoking devices. The county will also conduct in-store education of recent changes with tobacco retailer store owners and/or employees to facilitate the new age restrictions.
