22 Jul Merchants fuming at new tobacco and vaping laws

With new tobacco and vaping laws that increase California’s smoking age from 18 to 21, and regulate vaping products as tobacco products, going into effect Thursday — just over a month after Gov. Jerry Brown signed them — some merchants haven’t even had time to make permanent signs.

Christopher Chin, owner of Gone With the Smoke, a San Francisco vape shop that has been in business since November 2013, plans to put up photocopied notices informing customers about the change.

Chin, who had to fire one employee who was under 21, said he’ll strictly enforce ID checking, but doesn’t think the change makes much sense. “If I’m 18 and I want to get a vape or smoke, I’m definitely going to have some friends who are 21 or older,” he said. “It’s really not going to affect much — that’s what I think.”

Gov. Brown on May 4 signed into law a sweeping package of five antitobacco bills, which also apply to vaping products and electronic cigarettes. The laws are allowed to go into effect more quickly because they were introduced in a special legislative session for health.

Sen. Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, authored the law that redefines “tobacco products” to include vaping devices, while the bill by Sen. Ed Hernandez makes California the second state in the country, behind Hawaii, to raise the minimum legal age for buying those products to 21.

“When you look at the overall cost to our health care system and to society by this deadly product, it’s incumbent upon the state to do everything we can to protect the consumer and control costs,” said Hernandez, D-West Covina (Los Angeles County).

Early prevention

Restricting tobacco access to the young is key, said Julia Barba, health programs coordinator for Breathe California of the Bay Area. “The data shows if someone doesn’t use nicotine or tobacco products before their mid-20s, they’re more than likely not going to use tobacco products in the future,” she said.

The new laws also expand the state’s workplace smoke-free laws, increase eligibility to receive funding for tobacco prevention programs and establish a new tobacco fee licensing program.

Bay Area retailers who sell tobacco products as well as e-cigarettes and other vaping devices say they’ll fully comply — albeit reluctantly in some cases — with the changes. Some merchants said they expected to lose a little business, but they believed the vast majority of their customers to be over 21.

A growing number of jurisdictions have already raised the age limit for buying tobacco products to 21. Such laws have passed in at least 145 cities or counties in 11 states, according to the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids.

But many smoke and vapor shop owners still found the restriction arbitrary.

“You can vote at 18, but have to be 21 to buy tobacco?” said Stephen Richman, owner of the Piedmont Tobacconist in Oakland, which sells pipe and cigar products. “Somebody’s an adult or they’re not. I’m not a libertarian, but I think the big brother in government is starting to overstep its bounds.”

Chuck Giarratana, co-owner of Vapors Smoke Shop in Campbell, noted that the legislation makes an exemption for those active in the military, but called it “insulting” that the civilian population would be considered less able to make that decision.

“Given that in California, the age of 18 is old enough to elect government officials, grant consent, legally procreate and be tried as adults in a court of law, I hold proponents of this legislation in defiance of logic to suggest such rights are afforded to adult citizens that are ‘too impressionable’ to make critical decisions regarding their own health,” he said in an email.

Giarratana, who had new signs made this week, was also concerned about new U.S. Food and Drug Administration rules regulating e-cigarettes and other vaping products, which also were approved last month. The regulations will be phased in, with some slated to go into effect as soon as Aug. 8.

The e-cigarette and vaping industry has gone largely unregulated, even as studies have shown that product use has skyrocketed among high school students, and health advocates have expressed concern that vaping could lead to regular smoking.

Nationwide rules

The FDA rules, which limit sales to those 18 and over in states that have not already raised the minimum age, regulates the manufacturing, sale and health claims of vaping products.

Gone With the Smoke’s Chin also raised concerns about the FDA rules, some of which go into effect as soon as August. Chin worries the rules will push out small manufacturers.

“There will be a handful of big players in the business,” he said. “Big Tobacco … is going to make out like gangbusters.”

Still, some merchants said the vaping industry could use a little more regulation.

“I don’t think anyone is saying it’s healthy; it’s more of a harm reduction,” said Randy Morales, who works at Vapor Smoke Shop on Stockton Street in San Francisco. He was referring to the use of vaping by some consumers as a means to wean themselves off cigarettes.

Morales said he’s not sure how sales will be affected, but expected them to dip slightly. Still, he was sympathetic to curbing use of nicotine products by young people.

“When you’re that age, maybe it’s not the right decision to be making,” he said.

New state tobacco laws’ effect on retailers

Starting Thursday, the minimum age to buy tobacco products, including electronic cigarettes and other vaping devices, rises from 18 to 21. Here are some questions about the changes:

How is “tobacco” defined? As any product containing, made or derived from tobacco or nicotine that’s intended for human consumption. This includes any electronic or smoking device, whether or not it contains nicotine, and any component, part or accessory of a tobacco product, whether or not sold separately. Tobacco-cessation products are not included in this definition.

How will retailers comply? Retailers are required to post new signs and to check identification. Self-service displays, which give customers access to tobacco products without help from the retailer, are generally prohibited.

Could retailers be penalized? Yes. Fines for selling to those under 21 range from $200 for a first offense to $1,000 for a third violation.

For more information: Visit the California Department of Public Health’s New Landmark Tobacco 21 Law website at: http://www.cdph.ca.gov/programs/tobacco/Pages/Tobacco21.aspx

Sources: California Department of Public Health, Chronicle research

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