Mahattan Beach to regulate tobacco sales with licenses
Sales of tobacco in the city will be regulated under a new law. Photo All stores selling tobacco will have to get a license from the city in addition to the state license already required, the city council voted unanimously Tuesday. The new law, which regulates the density of tobacco retailers, their proximity to schools and the sale of flavored tobacco products, was designed to prevent youth smoking. Several tobacco retailers in the city, the Manhattan Beach Chamber of Commerce and the American Petroleum and Convenience Store Association implored the council to reconsider parts or all of the law, while the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network and American Lung Association encouraged them to pass it. The city recently banned smoking in multi-unit housing. Smoking in public places was outlawed last year. The American Lung Association laid out the rationale for the regulation. “Studies have shown that the density of tobacco retailers, particularly in neighborhoods surrounding schools, has been associated with increased smoking rates and that one-third of illegal tobacco sales take place within 1,000 feet of schools,” it…
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