San Francisco Considers Tightening Limits on Smoking, Tobacco Sales
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors is considering proposals that would bar pharmacies from selling tobacco products and further restrict where people could smoke, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
Mayor Gavin Newsom (D) has proposed an ordinance that would prohibit tobacco sales in pharmacies, although it would permit grocery stores and big-box stores that include pharmacies to sell tobacco.
Violators of the law would face fines ranging from $100 to $1,000.
Mitch Katz, director of the San Francisco Department of Public Health, said that the proposal is based on laws in eight Canadian provinces but that such a law has not been adopted anywhere in the U.S.
The health commission approved the measure on Tuesday, and it now goes to the board of supervisors for consideration. If approved, the ordinance would take effect on Oct. 1.
In addition, Supervisor Chris Daly has offered a proposal that would eliminate exceptions for owner-operated establishments to San Francisco's current ban on smoking in bars and businesses and prohibit smoking within 20 feet of the entrances to private, nonresidential buildings. The measure also would ban smoking in:
- Taxis and rental cars;
- City-owned vehicles;
- Farmer's markets;
- Common areas of apartment buildings;
- Hotels;
- Tobacco shops;
- Charity bingo games;
- Open-air dining areas; and
- Waiting areas, including those at ATMs and movie theaters.
Lena Gomes, legislative aide for Daly, said smokers rather than businesses would face fines under the proposed ordinance. She said fines could be as high as $500.
Voicing his support for both measures, Katz said, "Tobacco remains the number one cause of preventable death in the U.S. -- period. It's government's responsibility to protect people from obvious risks."
Representatives of the Chamber of Commerce and a local labor union criticized the measures, saying they might prove to be impractical or misdirected (Knight, San Francisco Chronicle, 7/16).