Facilitators and barriers to jurisdictions adopting tobacco retail licensing policies

Introduction: Youth access to tobacco products is a serious public health problem for Santa Clara County (SCC), California: the majority of cities have illegal sales rates above 20%. As part of the CPPW Tobacco Prevention Initiative (CPPW-TP), SCC aims to reduce youth access to tobacco products though adoption of strong local tobacco retail licensing (TRL) ordinances. Methods: We maintained a tracking log of policies being enacted across eight jurisdictions in SCC receiving grants to pursue tobacco prevention policies. Interviews with program staff and contractors, and a review of city council agendas and meeting minutes were conducted to document what strategies contributed to policy change. Results: Two jurisdictions have adopted TRL policies: SCC adopted a TRL policy in November 2010 and San Jose in January 2011. Collectively, these policies impact over 50% of tobacco retailers and over 1 million residents. SCC included the strongest provisions: restricting sales within 1,000 feet of schools and 500 feet of another tobacco retailer, preventing tobacco sales in pharmacies, and restricting the sale of flavored tobacco products. Important to the process was: funding cities; collaborative jurisdictional partnerships; strong policy champions; engagement with supporters and opponents; and the youth voice. Discussion: The CPPW-TP Initiative identified promising practices for other jurisdictions to successfully implement TRL policies. The initiative also has implications for current TRL work in the remaining six cities.