It may be harder to go out for a smoke in Beverly Hills.
On Tuesday night, the Beverly Hills City Council is expected to consider recommendations from the health and safety committee to ban the sale of all tobacco products.
Some business owners from cigar lounges, gas stations and drugstores are upset that new legislation would strip them of a large profit source.
“For sure it’s going to affect the gas too because people they buy gas and cigarettes,” said Roshdui Sidarous, a business owner in Beverly Hills. “If I don’t sell cigarettes they’re not going to stop to buy gas here.”
Added Keith Sterling, a Beverly Hills resident: “We do have a lot of international visitors in Beverly Hills and a lot of folks that visit will use tobacco. I think that’s been part of it.”
Beverly Hills already has strict regulations on how people smoke. Standing still, for example, is illegal — if you’re going to smoke, you must be walking and continuously moving.
A team of ambassadors is hired by the city to monitor this. In Dec. 2018, the city banned all flavored tobacco products from being sold, with penalties of up to $1,000.
Beverly Hills has been exploring the new bill since February. If drafted into law, it would ban the sale of all tobacco products in the city. Tobacco and e-cigarette retailers already have to apply for a city permit to make sales, while any vending machines for tobacco products are banned.
According to the National Association of Tobacco Outlets, the city may face lawsuits if it goes ahead with the law, which would be the first of its kind in the U.S.
While Beverly Hills Mayor John Mirisch supports the ban, it must also be reviewed by the city council before passing.
Photo Credit: KNBC-TV
Source: NBC Los Angeles