Bay Area city moves to ban sale of tobacco products

Tiburon City Council moves to ban tobacco sales

The Tiburon City Council this week approved a ban on tobacco sales in the city. John Krinjak reports.

TIBURON, Calif. - Tiburon could become just the third municipality in the country to ban all sales of tobacco products. The idea originated from a group of high school students in town. 

Unanimous vote

Tiburon Town Hall broke into applause Wednesday night, as council voted unanimously to ban the sale of all tobacco products — including cigarettes, e-cigarettes and nicotine pouches. 

California already has some of the strictest smoking laws in the country, but Tiburon will become just the third city or town — after Beverly Hills and Manhattan Beach — to go this far. 

"There is power to doing this. It has been demonstrated to lead to a reduced smoking incidence in Beverly Hills, where it was adopted in 2021," said Dr. John Maa of the San Francisco Marin Medical Society. 

Tobacco ban spearheaded by high school students

The idea for the ban came not from a council member or health official, but from three students at Redwood High School, who saw a problem. 

"If you walk into the bathrooms, you're immediately hit with the smell of vape smoke. It's not pleasant, and it's also just not healthy," said Rhett Krawitt, a senior at Redwood High School. 

Tiburon's mayor said vaping is a serious issue in Marin County.

"Youth in Marin County vape at twice the average in the state of California. This is a serious issue," said Tiburon Mayor Holli Thier. 

Notably, TIburon does not currently have any stores that sell tobacco products. Proponents say that is the perfect opportunity to stop new ones from coming in. Some critics, however, see the move as an overreach by the government, and a solution in search of a problem. 

What's next:

The town council will take a final vote on the ordinance at its next meeting in November. If it's approved again, the ban will go on the books in December. 

Tiburon isn't alone in its quest to get cigarettes off store shelves. 

The town of Ross in Marin County is taking up a similar proposal next month, with nearby Belvedere and Corte Madera looking at options as well.