Jump to full article: Vallejo (CA) Times-Herald, 2009-07-04
Author: Jessica A. York/Times-Herald staff writer
Intro: Solano County advocates have targeted Vallejo as "ground zero" to push for tobacco licensing control.
The Solano County Tobacco Prevention and Education Program and the Solano Tobacco Education Coalition are stepping up efforts to urge Vallejo leaders to require licensing of local tobacco vendors.
The point of local ordinances aimed at tobacco sellers would be to cut down on illegal sales to minors, agency officials said.
Working locally with Fighting Back Partnership and the Vallejo Alcohol and Tobacco Policy Coalition in recent years, the education programs recommend that tobacco retailers be licensed, be subject to zoning restrictions and to fund enforcement. . . .
The city moratorium on new smoke shops came several years ago when there was a "particular sentiment that there were too many smoke shops" in Vallejo and a desire to enact an ordinance concerning the perceived nuisance, Assistant City Attorney Claudia Quintana said.
City attorneys have been working with local agencies on an ordinance proposal, though there is some disagreement on how feasible the coalition's proposals are, Quintana said.
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