Ventura County Municipal Code Ch. 8 Regulating Tobacco Vending Machines

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(Added Ord. 4100—10/3/95)

The Board of Supervisors of Ventura County finds that:

(a) Penal Code section 308 makes it illegal to knowingly sell tobacco products to minors;

(b) While only 3% to 5% of all cigarette sales are from vending machines, approximately 16% of illegal cigarette sales to minors are from vending machines and over 50% of minors who smoke have obtained cigarettes from vending machines;

(c) By restricting tobacco vending machines to bars from which minors are generally excluded by state law, this Chapter would make the illegal purchase of cigarettes by minors less likely to occur; and

(d) This Board concurs with the finding of this state Legislature, set forth in Business and Professions Code section 22951, that reducing and eventually eliminating the illegal purchase and consumption of tobacco products by minors is critical to ensuring the long-term health of the state's citizens.

The following words and phrases, whenever used in this Chapter, shall be construed as defined in this Section.

(a) "Bar" means any licensed public premises, as defined in Section 23039 of the Business and Professions Code, from which persons under the age of 21 years are barred by the provisions of Section 25665 of the Business and Professions Code.

(b) "Operator of a vending machine" means any person who owns or possess a vending machine and who controls the operation of the machine, as by placing the merchandise therein or removing coins therefrom.

(c) "Vending machine" means a mechanical device the operation of which depends upon the insertion of coins or other things representative of value and which dispenses or vends merchandise in exchange for such coins or other things.

(a) No person who is an operator of a vending machine shall place or maintain that machine for the purpose of selling or dispensing cigarettes or other tobacco products therefrom on any premises within the unincorporated area of Ventura County, except as otherwise provided in subdivision (c) of this Section.

(b) No person who is possession or control of any premises within the unincorporated area of Ventura County shall place or maintain, or allow any other person to place or maintain, a vending machine on such premises for the purpose of selling or dispensing cigarettes or other tobacco products therefrom, except as otherwise provided in subdivision (c) of this Section.

(c) The prohibitions of subdivisions (a) and (b) of this Section are not applicable to any vending machine located within a bar, provided that such machine is located at least 15 feet away from any entrance to that bar.

(a) Each time an individual vending machine is placed, and each day or portion thereof an individual vending machine is maintained, in violation of subdivision (a) or subdivision (b) of Section 6803 is a separate violation.

(b) Each violation of subdivision (a) or subdivision (b) of Section 6803 is an infraction; provided that each such violation by any person who has previously been convicted of three or more such violations is a misdemeanor/infraction.