Council committee advances ordinance adding illegal tobacco sales to nuisance rules, requires retailer training

The Philadelphia City Council Licenses and Inspections Committee on Thursday advanced an amendment to Bill 251097 that would add illegal sales of tobacco products to minors and operation of tobacco retail establishments without a Philadelphia tobacco retailer permit to the city's nuisance-business framework and require department-approved education for nuisance retailers.

Public-health witnesses told the committee the measure would strengthen enforcement and reduce youth access. "Nearly 4000 Philadelphians die each year due to tobacco use," Ben Hartung, public policy adviser with the Division of Chronic Disease and Injury Prevention at the Philadelphia Department of Public Health, said in testimony supporting the bill. Hartung said the measure would require retailers determined to be nuisances for illegal tobacco sales to complete a tobacco retailer education and compliance training within 60 days of executing a nuisance-abatement plan and would give the health department another enforcement tool.

Community groups and public-health organizations also backed the ordinance. Heather Miller of the Longcrest Community Association urged the committee to hold business owners accountable, saying education as a prerequisite to lifting a cease-operations order would "protect our most vulnerable populations, our children." Jacob Zajic of the American Heart Association cited youth e-cigarette use in Philadelphia and argued the ordinance would strengthen retailer compliance despite state-level preemption on flavored-product bans.

Committee members asked department staff about enforcement logistics. Hartung said the health department currently requires retailers with a Philadelphia tobacco retailer permit to complete an annual education module and that existing materials could be adapted for the compliance training the bill mandates. On enforcement timing and after-hours sales, he said the department would coordinate with the Philadelphia Police Department for incidents outside sanitarians' normal hours and work with the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue for investigations such as hidden inventory and sting operations.

The committee adopted amendments and voted to report Bill 251097 as amended with a favorable recommendation and to suspend the rules to permit first reading at the next council session. Councilmember Anthony Phillips moved the amendment and the committee approved it; Councilmember Curtis Jones seconded the motions and the chair declared the motions carried by voice vote.

The bill will next appear on first reading at council; the committee recorded the vote to report the amended ordinance out of committee but did not take a roll-call tally during the meeting.