Council Votes to Study Fee for Tobacco Retailers

The Santa Cruz City Council unanimously voted to move forward with a proposal that would place a license fee on tobacco retailers to fund decoy stings and other programs to deter minors from buying cigarettes.

According to Kathleen Hofvendahl-Clark, chairwoman of the Santa Cruz County Tobacco Education Coalition, minors buying tobacco products is a growing problem in Santa Cruz and in the county's unincorporated areas.

The most recent survey by the coalition showed 26 percent of stores in Santa Cruz sold tobacco to minors. In unincorporated areas, that number surges to 42 percent.

"That's three times higher than statewide rate," said Hofvendahl-Clark. "We need to make the issue of tobacco sales to minors a priority now."

She said a lack of enforcement was part of the problem.

"The primary reason the rates have gone up is there is no enforcement at all," she said. "We're stretched really thin. Tobacco is perceived as not the most important issue for law enforcement to be looking at."

Mayor Mike Rotkin said the issue needs serious consideration. Although nobody at the meeting spoke against the measure, Rotkin said he had heard from local retailers who were concerned about the proposal.

"I'm sure there are responsible retailers who are not selling tobacco to minors, but there obviously are some," he said.

Watsonville, the first city in the county to pass a tobacco-retailer license fee, charges stores $255. According to the coalition's study, 10 percent of stores in Watsonville sell tobacco to minors—proof, Hofvendahl-Clark said, the program can be effective.

What's next: City Council will address the issue again at a later meeting after a draft ordinance is prepared.