San Anselmo has moved to become the latest Marin town to ban tobacco and nicotine sales, with one exception that local residents pushed for: premium cigars.
What passed
The Town Council's agenda item replaces the town's tobacco retailer license chapter with an ordinance banning the sale of tobacco and nicotine products "with certain exceptions." The Marin Independent Journal reports that the exception lets Ludwig's, a downtown shop open since 1937, keep selling cigars. The ban covers five other nicotine retailers: two gas stations, two convenience stores and a supermarket. The council approved it on first reading 3-1 with one abstention. It comes back for final approval in November and would take effect 12 months later.
The votes
Mayor Steve Burdo, Vice Mayor Chantel Walker and Councilmember Tarrell Kullaway voted yes. Burdo told the IJ that most of the hundreds of comments the council received backed a ban with a cigar exemption. Walker said few young people become addicted through cigars. Councilmember Eileen Burke voted no and called the ordinance "overkill." Councilmember Yoav Schlesinger abstained. He said tobacco policies fall hardest on lower-income smokers.
The debate
Public health advocates questioned the cigar exemption, while retail trade groups opposed the ban. Two local convenience store owners spoke against it. One said the cigar carve-out is discriminatory and, in his view, unconstitutional. The IJ reports that the county, Ross, Tiburon, Fairfax, Sausalito, Corte Madera and Mill Valley have all adopted restrictions, and Corte Madera and Mill Valley ban all nicotine products with no exemptions.