California’s Beverly Hills bans tobacco sales

Beverly Hills City Council, in the US state of California, has vote unanimously to prohibit the sale of tobacco products from 2021.

Under the ban, it will be illegal to sell cigarettes, cigars, pipe tobacco, chewing tobacco and electronic cigarettes.

Beverly Hills Mayor John Mirisch said the ban was “a natural progression”.

“There’s absolutely nothing good that comes from tobacco and it’s not representative of the values of our city,” he told 3AW’s Tom Elliott.

Smoking is already banned in apartment buildings and flats in Beverly Hills, as well as in outdoor public areas and restaurants.

Mr Mirisch said a total ban on smoking is unlikely.

“I don’t know that we would do a complete blanket ban of smoking itself. Hopefully it will be something that won’t be relevant because people won’t smoke,” he said.

Other Californian regions are already considering adopting a similar ban on tobacco sales.

“I got word that tonight at a meeting at Manhattan Beach, which is another city in LA County, they discussed and are looking to ban the sale of tobacco products in their city as well,” Mr Mirisch said.

There are a few exclusive cigar lounges in Beverly Hills which will be exempt from the ban.

“We got hundreds of letters, including one from former governor Arnold Schwarzenegger about cigar lounges,” Mr Mirisch said.

Mr Mirisch said the exception for cigar lounges was made because the cigars are smoked on premises, not purchased there and smoked somewhere else.

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