(A) It shall be unlawful for any person, business, or tobacco retailer, except for a retail tobacco store, to sell, permit to be sold, offer for sale, or display for sale any tobacco product or tobacco paraphernalia by means other than vendor-assisted sales. A vending machine, as defined in § 5.19.020(L) above, is not a vendor-assisted sale.
(B) It shall be unlawful for any person, business, or tobacco retailer to engage in the sale of tobacco products or tobacco paraphernalia without first posting a plainly visible sign at the point of purchase of tobacco products or tobacco paraphernalia which states: “THE SALE OF TOBACCO PRODUCTS OR TOBACCO PARAPHERNALIA TO PERSONS UNDER TWENTY-ONE (21) YEARS OF AGE IS PROHIBITED BY LAW AND SUBJECT TO PENALTIES. PHOTO IDENTIFICATION IS REQUIRED.” The letters of the sign shall be at least one-quarter inch (1/4") high.
(C) It shall be unlawful for any person, business or tobacco retailer to sell any tobacco product or tobacco paraphernalia to any individual who appears younger than 21 years of age, without first verifying, by means of photographic identification containing the bearer's date of birth, that the purchaser is at least 21 years old, unless the person, business, or tobacco retailer has some other reliable basis for determining the purchaser's age.
(D) It shall be unlawful for any person to act as a tobacco retailer without first obtaining and maintaining a valid tobacco retailer’s license pursuant to this chapter for each location at which that activity is to occur. Tobacco retailing without a valid tobacco retailer’s license is a public nuisance.
(E) A tobacco retailer or proprietor without a valid tobacco retailer license, including, for example, a revoked license:
(1) Shall keep all tobacco products and tobacco paraphernalia from public view. The public display of tobacco products or tobacco paraphernalia in violation of this provision shall constitute an “offer for sale” for the purposes of § 5.19.120 of this chapter.
(2) Shall not display any advertisement relating to tobacco products or tobacco paraphernalia that promotes the sale or distribution of such products from the tobacco retailer’s location or that could lead a reasonable consumer to believe that such products can be obtained at that location.
(F) Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to grant any person obtaining and maintaining a tobacco retailer’s license any status or right other than the right to act as a tobacco retailer at the location in the city identified on the face of the permit. For example, nothing in this chapter shall be construed to render inapplicable, supercede, or apply in lieu of, any other provision of applicable law including, but not limited to, any provision of this code, or any condition or limitation on smoking in an enclosed place of employment pursuant to Cal. Labor Code § 6404.5. For example, obtaining a tobacco retailer license does not make the retailer a “retail or wholesale tobacco shop” for the purposes of Cal. Labor Code § 6404.5.
(Ord. 3244 §§ 8-9, 2016; Ord. 2796 § 3, 2005; Ord. 2668 § 1, 2003.)