EPC Cities Favor Stricter Tobacco Sale Laws
Manitou Springs City Council unanimously approved a new city ordinance Tuesday that allows stricter enforcement for the illegal sales of tobacco to minors.
Manitou Springs and Fountain are among the first communities in Colorado to pass a tobacco licensing ordinance aimed at reducing underage tobacco use. Fountain’s city council unanimously passed a similar ordinance Oct. 11. Steamboat Springs passed an ordinance in July.
The new laws will become effective Jan. 1, 2012 and require non-cigarette tobacco retailers to obtain an annual retail license. Non-cigarette tobacco products include chew or spit tobacco, cigars, snus, sticks, orbs, strips, electronic cigarettes, and hookah.
Both communities adopted the following additional provisions: ~Minors younger than 18 are not permitted to sell, stock or handle non-cigarette tobacco products. ~Self-service displays of any non-cigarette tobacco products are prohibited. ~If a retailer receives four violations within one year, their license to sell non-cigarette tobacco may be suspended or revoked.
The local ordinances were introduced by the Tobacco Education and Prevention Partnership at El Paso County Public Health, Fountain Valley Community Activity and Nutrition group, Partners for Healthy Choices, and students and teachers of Fountain-Fort Carson and Manitou Springs school districts.
