Mohave Today

Tempe, AZ - Tempe City Council’s Human Services and Community Safety Committee is bringing forward a proposed tobacco license and minimum age of purchase ordinance to the full Council for consideration. At a City Council Work Study Session on June 8, the Council will discuss the ordinance and consider bringing it to a vote at a future meeting.

The proposed ordinance would increase the age to purchase tobacco products in Tempe from 18 to 21 and implement a licensing fee and fine structure program for tobacco retailers. 

Currently, Arizona is one of 10 states that does not have a statewide tobacco licensing registry. This means that retailers who sell tobacco products can continue to sell the products even after repeated violations for selling to minors.

If passed, Tempe would join other Arizona cities, such as Tucson and Flagstaff, which have passed retail tobacco licensing ordinances and raised the minimum age to 21 in alignment with federal legislation signed into law in 2019.

Two rounds of public input about the proposal were held over the last year. On April 4, the Human Services and Community Safety Council Committee, which is made up of Councilmembers Doreen Garlid and Joel Navarro, received consensus to move forward with the current proposal.

If Council agrees to move the proposal forward, two public hearings will be held prior to a vote. Any new fees will also be posted on the City of Tempe website for a minimum of 60 days before a vote is taken.

Last summer and fall, the committee engaged in a public feedback process for a proposed ordinance that, in addition to the items above, would restrict the sale of flavored tobacco products, such as e-cigarettes and menthol cigarettes. The current tobacco seller license action could be the first step in a more comprehensive proposed ordinance in the future that could include product restrictions.

Progress and updates related to the proposed ordinance will be posted at tempe.gov/TobaccoOrdinance.

Original source can be found here.