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Health advocates press Loma Linda council to adopt tobacco retail licensing after local decoy tests
Summary
Public‑health presenters showed local data that several Loma Linda retailers sold tobacco to underage decoys and urged the council to consider a local tobacco‑retail license to fund enforcement; multiple community speakers, including students and public‑health researchers, asked the city to act.
Public‑health advocates urged the Loma Linda City Council to adopt a local tobacco retail license ordinance after presenters described local data showing continued youth access to flavored and other tobacco products.
Monica Gracian, director of program services for the California Health Collaborative, told the council the collaborative oversees the San Bernardino County Tobacco Control Program and presented state policy context and local data. She said Loma Linda had 11 licensed tobacco retailers (10 reported selling products) and cited a 2022 decoy operation in which 5 of 9 visited stores sold tobacco products to underage decoys (all 20 years old for the test).
Gracian reviewed recent state actions — she cited the STAY Act, the voter‑backed flavored‑tobacco restrictions (Prop 31/SB793) and more recent statutes referenced in the presentation — and said new state lists and enforcement tools (including AB 935 and other laws described in the presentation) are intended to simplify enforcement but that local enforcement capacity remains limited.
She described a local tobacco‑retail license (TRL) as a common municipal tool: the license requires retailers to pay an annual city fee that funds local inspections and enforcement, and it can include customizable restrictions such as minimum package size, location limits near schools, and other provisions. Gracian pointed to Victorville and other nearby cities that had adopted TRL ordinances and used code enforcement to inspect and, when necessary, cite retailers.
During public comment, Israel Fuentes of the Coalition for Tobacco Free San Bernardino County and student speaker Laura Cortez urged the council to act; researcher Anna Barrett Peterson described health harms and a program to support pregnant people who smoke. Fuentes offered model policy packets and volunteer support for drafting an ordinance.
Council members and staff discussed next steps, including the need to evaluate enforcement capacity, estimate costs and compare Victorville’s implementation model. No ordinance vote was taken; councilmembers indicated interest but asked staff and advocates to prepare analysis and draft language for a future agenda.
