Tobacco Retail License
November 14, 2023
Cindy Benzerara
Jason Nutt
Alyssa Hamilton
Terese Voge
1 Impact Sonoma
• Who is Impact Sonoma?
• Tobacco-Nicotine Prevention Program for Sonoma County Department of Health Services
• What do they do?
• Provide prevention services and coordinate tobacco control activities with community partners and allies throughout Sonoma County
• Conduct Tobacco Retail License (TRL) enforcement for the City of Petaluma, Windsor, and Unincorporated Sonoma County
• Offer administrative support to Tobacco Free Sonoma County Community Coalition
• Collaborate with interested county jurisdictions to discuss and provide administrative support regarding health polices to protect our community
2 Sonoma
County
Youth
Current
Use
3 Source 2023 Youth Truth Survey
Current
Santa Rosa
Youth Use
by Product
Type
4 Source 2023 Youth Truth Data
Youth
Perceived
Access to
Tobacco
Products
(2017-2018)
5 Source 2017-2018 Santa Rosa City
Schools California Healthy Kids Survey
Tobacco Retail Policies
6 GREEN: STRONG POLICY
• Petaluma
• Sebastopol
• Windsor
• Unincorporated Sonoma
County*
YELLOW: MODERATE POLICY
• Cloverdale
• Healdsburg
• Sonoma (City)
RED: NO POLICY
• Cotati
• Rohnert Park
• Santa Rosa
Sonoma County Young Adult
Tobacco Purchase Survey (YATPS)
2021
• 156 Sonoma County
tobacco retailers
surveyed
• All county jurisdictions
represented
• 75 of the 156 retailers
sold to the decoy (minor)
• Sonoma County buy rate
48%
2023
• 100 Sonoma County
tobacco retailers
surveyed
• Not a representative
sample
• 17 retailers sold to the
decoy
Petaluma Chapter 8.21
Regulation of Retail Tobacco Sales
• Annual fee for tobacco retailers
• Compliance checks & violation enforcement
• License to sell tobacco products
• Youth deterrents
• No new retailers w/in 1,000 feet of “youth-oriented area” • Density requirements
• No new retailers w/in 500 feet of another retailer
• One new license per 2,000 residents
• Bans sale of flavored tobacco products and electronic smoking devices
• Sets min package price and bans coupons and discounts 8 9
19 13
11 8
20 32
15 Type of Retailers Selling
Tobacco
10 Convenience Store w/ Gas 46
Convenience Store w/out Gas 30
Golf Course 1
Grocery Store 10
Significant Retailer 14
Store w/ Pharmacy 8
Liquor Store 7
Other 2
Total Tobacco Retailers 118
Proposed Policy Elements
• Annual fee for tobacco retailers
• License required to sell tobacco products
• County to administer and perform compliance
checks
• City Code Enforcement for violations
• Youth deterrents
• No new retailers w/in 600 feet of “youth-
oriented area”
• Retail license cap
• Cap number of licenses at 118
11 Proposed Policy Elements
Other considerations
• Ban sale of flavored tobacco products and
electronic smoking devices
• Set minimum package size
• Set minimum package price
• Ban price promotions, coupons and discounts
• Require only on-site sales (no online sales)
12 Proposed Policy Enforcement
• Progressive license suspensions for violations:
• First - County notices violation and schedules
follow-up inspection
• Second - Code Enforcement issues a fine
• Third - Tobacco Retail License revoked
• Suspended license requires retailer to post a
suspended notice
13 Economic Impact
• County of Sonoma collects annual fee to cover
inspection costs
• The violation fee imposed and collected by Code
Enforcement
• Potential sales tax loss not currently measurable
14 Feedback
1. Should staff continue to pursue development
of a Tobacco Retail License?
2. Should there be a cap on the number of
retailers or should licenses be issued on a
density basis like Petaluma?
3. Is the 600 foot boundary from a “youth
oriented area” enough?
4. Is the enforcement framework adequate?
5. Should the policy include packaging size,
minimum costs and loose-leaf products?
15 Questions?
20