The Board of Supervisors finds that:
A.
State law prohibits the sale or furnishing of cigarettes, tobacco products and smoking paraphernalia to persons under the age of 21, as well as the purchase, receipt or possession of tobacco products by persons under the age of 21 except active duty military personnel who are 18 years of age or older (California Penal Code Section 308).
B.
State law requires that tobacco retailers check the identification of tobacco purchasers who reasonably appear to be under 21 years of age (California Business and Professions Code Section 22956) and provides procedures for using persons under 21 years of age to conduct onsite compliance checks of tobacco retailers (California Business and Professions Code Section 22952).
D.
State law prohibits the sale or display of cigarettes through a self-service display and prohibits public access to cigarettes without the assistance of a clerk (California Business and Professions Code Section 22962).
E.
State law prohibits the sale of "bidis" (a type of hand-rolled filterless cigarette) except at those businesses that prohibit the presence of persons under 18 years of age (California Penal Code Section 308.1).
F.
State law prohibits the manufacture, distribution, or sale of cigarettes in packages of less than 20 and prohibits the manufacture, distribution, or sale of "roll-your-own" tobacco in packages containing less than six-tenths of an ounce of tobacco (California Penal Code Section 308.3).
G.
State law prohibits public school students from smoking or using tobacco products while on campus, while attending school-sponsored activities, or while under the supervision or control of school district employees (California Education Code Section 48901(a)).
H.
In 2018, the Sacramento County Department of Health Services Tobacco Education Program found that ten and one-half (10.5) percent of tobacco retailers sampled in unincorporated Sacramento County unlawfully sold tobacco products to persons between the ages of 18 and 20. California Penal Code Section 308 was amended in 2016 to increase the tobacco purchase age from 18 to 21 in California.
I.
Nearly 90% of all smokers begin by age 18, and 99% start smoking by age 26. The average age at which smokers try their first cigarette is fourteen and one-half (14 1/2).
J.
Research suggests that retailer compliance with all laws regulating the sale of cigarettes must be at 90% to impact youth smoking rates.
K.
From 2013 to 2015, an estimated 15% of ninth and eleventh grade students in California reported using electronic smoking devices.
L.
Over 9% of high school students in California reported buying their own electronic cigarette from a store.
M.
In 2016, an estimated 82% of tobacco retailers in California sold flavored non-cigarette tobacco products, over 90% of tobacco retailers sold menthol cigarettes, and 80% of tobacco retailers near schools sold flavored non-cigarette tobacco products.
N.
Mentholated and flavored products have been shown to be "starter" products for youth who begin using tobacco and these products help establish tobacco habits that can lead to long-term addiction.
O.
The County of Sacramento has a substantial interest in promoting compliance with federal, state, and local laws intended to regulate tobacco sales and use; in discouraging the illegal purchase of tobacco products by persons under 21 years of age; in promoting compliance with laws prohibiting sales of cigarettes and tobacco products to persons under 21 years of age; and in protecting persons under 21 years of age from being lured into illegal activity through the misconduct of adults.
P.
State law authorizes local tobacco retailer licensing laws to provide for the suspension or revocation of the local tobacco retailer license for any violation of a state tobacco control law.
Q.
Additional requirements for a tobacco retailer's business license will not unduly burden legitimate business activities of retailers who sell or distribute tobacco products or tobacco paraphernalia to persons age 21 years of age or older. It will, however, allow the County to regulate the operation of lawful businesses to discourage violations of federal, state, and local tobacco-related laws.
(SCC 1273 § 1, 2004; SCC 1608 § 2, 2017; SCC 1687 § 1, 2022; SCC 1717 § 1, 2023)