55-98 Chpt 1727 Tobacco Sales to Minors

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PLEASE SUBSTI. rE FOR ORD. NO. 55-98 PLACED ON 1ST READIi~G ~ REFERRED TO COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE ON 10/19/98 ~ PLACED ON 2ND READING ON 11/2/98. ORDINANCE NO. 55-98 BY: Corrigan, Flannery, George, Roth, Seelie, Skindell, Smith AN ORDINANCE to enact Chapter ] 727 Cigarette and Tobacco Vendors: Sales to Minors of the Sanitary Code of the Codified Ordinances of the City of Lakewood. WHEREAS, approximately 3,000,000 children and adolescents under the age of eighteen use tobacco products; and WHEREAS, nearly 3,000 children and adolescents begin to use tobacco products every day; and WI-IEREAS, nearly one billion packs of cigarettes are sold each year to children under the age of 18; and WHEREAS, more than half of all smokers begin smoking before the age of 14, and 90% begin by the age of 19; the average age of first use of tobacco products is now eleven to 15 years of age; and WHEREAS, smoking is responsible for the premature deaths of 434,000 Americans each year from lung cancer, heart disease, respiratory illness, and other diseases; second hand smoke is responsible for an additional 53,000 deaths among nonsmokers; and WHEREAS, the U.S. Surgeon General has declared that nicotine is as addictive as cocaine or heroin; no other addictive product or drug, or cancer-causing product or drug is sold through vending machines; and WHEREAS, the U.S. Secretary of Health, the U.S. Surgeon General, and the leading voluntary health organizations all conclude that youth addiction to tobacco products is a public health problem with grave health consequences; and WHEREAS, City council finds that action is needed to curtail the easy access of cigarettes and other tobacco products to minors; and WHEREAS, a local ordinance which has a local licensing provision and penalty violations including suspension or revocation of the license for selling tobacco products to minors, including the licensing of cigarette vending machines, is an effective tool to reduce tobacco use among children and adolescents. 'Se_~e DeGeeter, "The Politics of Reducing Tobacco Use Among Children and Adolescents: Why the Food and Drug Administration Cannot Regulate Tobacco and a Proposed Policy for States and Local Communities," Vol.10 J. of Law and Health 367 (1996). BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY OF LAKEWOOD, STATE OF OHIO: Section 1. That the Sanitary Code of the Codified Ordinances of the City of Lakewood be and the same is hereby supplemented by enacting new Chapter ]727 Cigarette and Tobacco Vendors: Sales to Minors, thereof to read as follows: 1727.01 DEFI2qlTIONS. As used in this chapter: (a) "License" means a license issued by the City of Lakewood for retail sale of tobacco products. (b) "Licensee" means the holder of a valid license for the retail sale of tobacco products. (c) "Minor" means any person under eighteen (18) years of age. (d) "Public Place" means any area to which the public is invited or in which the public is permitted, including, but not limited to, any right-of-way, mall or shopping center, park, playground, and any other property owned by the city, and any school district, or any park district.