Beverly Hills to End Tobacco Sales – Should Other Cities Do the Same?

What’s the story?

• Cigarettes, cigars, and their electronic counterparts will be banned in Beverly Hills after the city council unanimously voted to end the sale of tobacco beginning in 2021.
• Beverly Hills was the first municipality to ban smoking in restaurants in 1987, and currently it is illegal to smoke in parks, on the sidewalk, and in apartment buildings in the affluent L.A. suburb.
• The regulation will exempt cigar lounges and hotels (through room service only). Of the 28 establishments in Beverly Hills that currently have permits to sell tobacco products, only three are cigar lounges.
• The tobacco ban includes the option to be able to participate in a stop-smoking program, which is free to city residents and offered through a major hospital.

Why end tobacco sales?

• Beverly Hills Mayor, John Mirisch (R), hopes that by removing tobacco products from store shelves the city can prevent kids from developing nicotine habits.

“Somebody’s got to be first, so let it be us,” Mirisch said.

 What are people saying?

• Several businesses with permits for tobacco sales have protested the ordinance, citing reduced revenue.
• The City Council said it will review the regulations impact on tourism in three years. The Council also believes that the public health benefits will outweigh the loss in business profits.
• The National Association of Tobacco Outlets said the ordinance will not reduce tobacco usage.

“Adults will simply drive to adjacent cities to purchase their preferred tobacco products,” said Thomas Briant, the group’s executive director.

• Councilwoman Lili Bosse said the legislation isn’t intended to tell people that they can’t smoke, but that the city is no longer enabling tobacco consumption.

“People’s right to smoke is obviously something we hold sacred,” Bosse told USA Today. “What we’re saying is we’re not going to take part in selling it. They are not going to buy it in our city.”

What do you think?

Do you think that banning tobacco sales will help prevent young adults/children from using e-cigarettes and other tobacco products? Why or why not? Contact your reps and share your opinions below.

—Veronica You

(Photo Credit: iStock / sturti)