Bay Area town passes nation’s strictest tobacco and nicotine ban

The town of Tiburon in California’s Bay Area has passed the nation’s toughest tobacco and nicotine sales ban, unanimously approving an ordinance that prohibits the sale and delivery of all tobacco and nicotine products.

The ordinance, approved Wednesday by the Tiburon Town Council, bans the sale of cigarettes, cigars, vapes, and all other electronic smoking devices. It also extends to deliveries of tobacco goods.

Tiburon, which has a population of about 9,000, will require landlords to include anti-smoking clauses in all leases for multiunit properties. Citizens will be allowed to bring civil actions against repeat violators, with fines ranging from $250 to $1,000 per incident. Sales violations will be treated as misdemeanors.

Marin County, where Tiburon is located, is consistently ranked among the healthiest counties in California, according to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

The new ordinance will take effect in December. Other California cities, including Manhattan Beach and Beverly Hills, have implemented similar bans but allow limited exceptions for certain businesses.

Town Manager Greg Chanis said during a council meeting last month that Tiburon’s lack of retail tobacco sales made the decision feasible.

“Tiburon is in a unique position to consider more stringent regulations as we ... currently have no retail tobacco sales,” Chanis said. Several high school students also spoke in favor of the measure, representing a local committee working to reduce youth smoking and vaping.

“I’m here again tonight to express my strong support for a ban on the sale of tobacco and nicotine products in our town,” said student Diana Garcia at a meeting last week, according to SFGate. “I really appreciate how open and responsive you guys have been to our concerns, and I’m grateful that you’re taking action on an issue that continues to affect my peers.”