Adoption of a tobacco retail licensing policy in the city of Firebaugh

Illegal tobacco sales rates have ranged between 4% to 41% in Fresno County cities. Local Tobacco Retailer Licensing would ensure that tobacco control laws are enforced with the sufficient fees to cover law enforcement costs. In addition, merchants violating tobacco laws would be subject to fines and/or loss of their license to sell tobacco. Interventions: The interventions included: 1) Youth Purchase Surveys to obtain data on the prevalence of cigarette sales to minors; 2) Public opinion polls to determine public support; and, 3) “Policy Review” to identify the specific tobacco control information recorded in city council agendas and minutes. Results: A convenience sample of 37 tobacco retailers revealed 9 (24.3%) willing to sale cigarettes to the minor decoys. A total of 161 surveys revealed that 80.7% of the respondents supported the adoption of a tobacco retailer licensing policy. Gender (c2 = 6.21, df = 2, p=.037), age (c2 = 7.981, df = 3, p=.046), and smoking status (c2 = 29.301, df = 1, p=.0001) were statistically significant. Also, 87.0% of the respondents agreed that merchants who break the law by selling tobacco to youth under 18 should be stopped. Age (c2 = 7.511, df = 3, p=.057) was not statistically significant, while gender (c2 = 23.303, df = 2, p=.0001) and smoking status (c2 = 51.377, df = 1, p=.0001) were significant. Conclusions: Based on the interventions, the Firebaugh City Council passed a tobacco retail license with sufficient fees to cover enforcement costs. Conclusions and recommendations will be discussed.