75B - AMENDING CH 18 ARTICLE 111

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and counties throughout California that have already adopted tobacco licensing legislation, including Los Angeles, Pasadena, and Riverside County.8 YOUTH ACCESS TO TOBACCO IN SANTA ANA The City of Santa Ana is committed to protecting the health of Santa Ana's children from the risks associated with smoking by reducing youth access to tobacco products in the City of Santa Ana. There are 331 State- authorized tobacco retailers in the City of Santa Ana, 'and 35% of these tobacco retailers are located wi thin 1000 feet of our schools. 10 Since 1996, the average sales rate of tobacco to minors in the City of Santa Ana has been 35.7%,11 which is 13% higher than the statewide average sales rate of 22.7%.12 Moreover, the City of Santa Ana is a young city with approximately 34.2% of Santa Ana residents under the age of 18 years old.13 Nationally, the City of Santa Ana is listed among the top ten places with a population of 100,000 or more with the lowest median age." CURRENT STATE TOBACCO SALES REGULATION While the State has made great strides in regulating tobacco, efforts at the local level are still required to reduce youth access to tobacco. As mentioned above, California prohibits the sale of tobacco to minors under Penal Code section 308(a), which makes it a misdemeanor for a person to knowingly sell or furnish tobacco products to persons under the age of 18. Although subject to some debate, generally the person considered liable for a violation of 308(a) is the person conducting the unlawful sale-often a clerk-and not the business owner or licensee. This in effect means that while an occasional clerk might be prosecuted, profits from unlawful tobacco sales continue to flow into to the business owner. In addition, Section 308(a) provides a small fine, $200, for first time offenders. Such a low fine combined with the low odds of arrest, result in a weak deterrent for those tempted to profit off the sales of tobacco products to minors. Similarly, penalties for non-compliance with tobacco signage and display regulations are slight, and include fines as low as $10.00 for a first offense. Clearly, given the enormous profit potential from unlawful sales of tobacco, municipalities must establish requirements that provide real deterrent value to support the intent of existing regulations and to effectively reduce youth access to tobacco. 8 American Nonsmokers' Rights Foundation, California Municipalities With Ordinances Restricting Youth Access To Tobacco, available at http://talc.phlaw.org/pdf_files/0021.pdf (last updated July 1, 2006). 9 California State Board of Equalization, July 17, 2006 10 Santa Ana Police Department, September 11, 2006 11 California Department of Health Services, Auqust 21, 2006 758-5