Brawley Municipal Code Ch. 19C Regulation of the Sale of Tobacco Products

The city council does hereby find that substantial scientific evidence exists that the use of tobacco products causes cancer, heart disease and various other medical diseases. The U.S. Surgeon General has found that tobacco caused diseases are the leading cause of premature, preventable death and disability in the U.S. The National Centers for Disease Control have found that at least four hundred eighteen thousand Americans die each year from tobacco caused diseases. The U.S. Surgeon General and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services have found that a majority of those Americans who die of tobacco caused diseases became addicted to nicotine in tobacco products as adolescents before the age of legal consent. Accordingly, the city council finds and declares it in the public interest to prohibit self-service displays, racks and shelves of tobacco products.

(Ord. No. 2000-02, § 1.)

For the purposes of this chapter, the following words are defined:

"Business" means any sole proprietorship, joint venture, corporation or other business entity formed for profit making purposes, including retail establishments where goods or services are sold as well as professional corporations and other entities where legal, medical, dental, engineering, architectural or other professional services are delivered.

"City" shall mean the city of Brawley.

"Employees" shall mean any person who is employed by any employer in consideration for direct or indirect wages or profit, any person who volunteers his or her services for a nonprofit entity.

"Minor" means any individual who is less than eighteen years old.

"Nonprofit entity" means any corporation, unincorporated association or other entity created for charitable, philanthropic education character-building, political, social or other similar purpose the net proceeds from the operations of which are committed to the promotion of the objectives or purposes of the entity and not a private gain. A public agency is not a "nonprofit entity" within the meaning of this section.

"Person" shall mean any individual, partnership, cooperative association, private corporation, personal representative, receiver, trustee, assignee, or any other legal entity.

"Self-service merchandising" means open display of tobacco products and point-of-sale tobacco-related promotional products that the public has access to without the intervention of an employee.

"Tobacco product" means any tobacco cigarette, cigar, pipe tobacco, smokeless tobacco, snuff or any other form of tobacco which may be utilized for smoking, chewing, inhaling or other manner of ingestion.

"Tobacco retailer" shall mean any person or governmental entity that operates a store, stand, booth, concession, or other place at which sales of tobacco products are made to purchasers for consumption or use.

"Tobacco vending machines" means any electronic or mechanical device or appliance the operation of which depends upon insertion of money, whether in coin or paper currency, or other things representatives of value, which dispenses or releases a tobacco product.

"Vendor-assisted" means only a store employee has access to the tobacco product and assists the customer by supplying the product. The customer does not take possession of the product until it is purchased.

(Ord. No. 2000-02, § 1).

(a) No person, business or tobacco retailer shall engage in the sale of tobacco products without first posting a plainly visible sign at the point of purchase of tobacco products which has wording similar to: "THE SALE OF TOBACCO PRODUCTS TO PERSONS UNDER 18 YEARS OF AGE IS PROHIBITED BY LAW AND SUBJECT TO PENALTIES. PHOTO IDENTIFICATION IS REQUIRED OF PURCHASERS 21 AND YOUNGER." The letters of the sign shall be at least one quarter inch high.

(b) No person, business, or tobacco retailer shall sell, offer to sell or permit to be sold any tobacco product to an individual without requesting and examining photo identification of customers twenty-one and younger for the purpose of establishing the purchaser's age as eighteen years or greater, unless the seller has some reasonable basis for determining the buyer's age.

(c) 1.

Except as provided in subsection (c)(2) of this section, it shall be unlawful for any person business or tobacco retailer to sell, permit to be sold, offer for sale or display for sale any tobacco product by means of self-service merchandising or by means other than vendor-assisted sales.

2. The provisions of subsection (c)(1) of this section shall not apply to the premises of a duly licensed and permitted business used exclusively for the retail sale of tobacco products or accessories so long as minors are not permitted within the premises and the premises are posted conspicuously at each point of entrance with a notice stating that no one under the age of eighteen years is permitted to be on the premises. Nothing herein shall be interpreted as relieving such retailer from also posting the notices described in Section 22952(b) of the California Business and Professions Code.

(d) No person, business, tobacco retailer or other establishment shall sell or offer for sale cigarettes or other tobacco or smoking products not in the original packaging provided by the manufacturer and with all required health warnings.

(Ord. No. 2000-02, § 1.)

(a) No person or employee shall discharge, refuse to hire or in any manner retaliate against any employee or applicant for employment because such employee or applicant agrees to abide by the provisions of this chapter.

(b) No person shall intimidate or threaten any reprisal or effect any reprisal for the purpose of retaliating against another person because such other person seeks to attain compliance with provisions of this chapter.

(Ord. No. 2000-02, § 1.)

(a) This chapter shall not be interpreted or construed to relieve any persons from posting the notices prescribed by California Business and Professions Code Section 22952 and any regulations adopted pursuant thereto.

(b) The owner, operator or manager of any public place or place of employment within the preview of this article shall comply herewith. Such owner, operator or manager shall post or cause to be posted all signage required by this chapter.

(c) It shall be the responsibility of employers to disseminate information concerning the provisions of this article to employees.

(Ord. No. 2000-02, § 1.)

(a) This article shall not be interpreted or construed to relieve any person from posting the notices prescribed by California Business and Professions Code Section 22952 and any regulations adopted pursuant thereto.

(b) The owner, operator or manager of any public place or place of employment within the purview of this article shall comply herewith. Such owner, operator or manager shall post or cause to be posted all signage required by this chapter.

(c) It shall be the responsibility of employers to disseminate information concerning the provisions of this article to employees.

(Ord. No. 2000-02, § 1.)

If any provision of this chapter or the application thereof to any person or circumstance is held invalid, that invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications of the act which can be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to this end the provisions of this act are severable.

(Ord. No. 2000-02, § 1.)