Jump to full article: San Francisco (CA) Examiner, 2009-11-16
Author: Mike Aldax
Intro: Smokers are huffing and businesses fuming over a controversial new proposal to drastically reduce the number of stores in The City that can sell cigarettes.
Since 2003, retailers hawking tobacco products in San Francisco have had to apply for a special permit. The permitting process helps The City keep track of sellers and crack down on those vending to minors, officials said.
But now there are too many permits citywide -- particularly in low-income neighborhoods -- according to city officials and anti-tobacco advocates, who have created legislation that would greatly reduce the number of stores that sell tobacco.
An initial proposal imposes a cap of 35 permits for each of the 11 supervisor districts -- 385 total in The City. That is a more than a two-thirds reduction from the 1,097 stores currently selling tobacco products citywide.
The proposal would not take away permits from businesses, but it would reduce them through attrition until there are no more than 35 per district. Also, owners would not be able to transfer the permits when they sell their stores, said Janet Clyde, a commissioner in the Office of Small Business.
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