The Berkeley City Council approved new restrictions on tobacco sales Tuesday, while also moving forward with a proposal to raise the legal smoking age to 21. Under the new plan, neither flavored tobacco or e-cigarettes—some of the most popular nicotine items among young people—may be sold within 600 feet of a school. In addition, no new tobacco licenses will be issued within that perimeter.
The new rules are imperative to stem early tobacco use, according to Tanya Bustamante, the city’s tobacco program coordinator. Noting that 90% of adult smokers picked up the habit before age 18, she dubbed smoking a fundamentally “pediatric disease.”
The new restrictions take effect Jan. 1, 2017. An ordinance that would raise the legal smoking age to 21 is now being drafted by city staff.
Read more about Tuesday’s vote here.
Image Credit: Flickr User 87735223@N02, https://flic.kr/p/iiM6Ni via (CC BY 2.0)