The Mariposa County Tobacco Education Program (TEP) is here to support tobacco retailer compliance with laws and regulations, so they can have successful businesses in local communities.
At minimum, a safe, legal tobacco retailer:
- Has a valid license to sell retail tobacco in California, which is posted
- Is selling only legal products and removes illegal products from their sales inventory
- Is selling only to people 21 years of age and older (in store and/or online)
License to Sell Tobacco Products
A cigarette and tobacco products retailer is a person who sells cigarettes or tobacco products directly to the public from a California retail location.
At present, Mariposa County has 27 licensed tobacco retailers. They are the only retailers legally allowed to sell cigarettes and tobacco products in Mariposa County. That license is issued by the California Department of Tax and Fees Administration (CDTFA).
Preventing Youth Access
It is illegal for any retailer or their employee to sell tobacco/nicotine products to anyone under the age of 21 in a store or online. This is both California and federal law applied to all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
The Stop Tobacco Access to Kids Enforcement (STAKE) Act is the California law making it illegal for retailers to sell tobacco to anyone under the age of 21. Tobacco 21 (T21) is the federal law that makes 21 the minimum age of sale in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
For information regarding the STAKE Act click on the image below or use the link listed here: What is the STAKE Act - Video
Check out the other videos in the Tobacco Education Clearinghouse of California’s TECCFlix series on the STAKE Act here - Tobacco Education Clearinghouse of California
Tobacco retailers are required to post the red age of sale warning sign/sticker at each cash register.
Replacement materials may be ordered for FREE through the Tobacco Education Clearinghouse of California (TECC). The Mariposa County Tobacco Education Program also keeps a supply of these free materials in stock for Mariposa County tobacco retailers who may need them. Call (209) 966-3689 or email TobaccoEducation@MariposaCounty.org.
TECC accepts orders for these free materials from tobacco retailers, law enforcement agencies, local tobacco retail licensing agencies, and CDPH/CTPP-funded agencies in California. Download a digital copy of the booklet Tobacco Control Laws That Affect California Businesses here.
Flavored Products: Recent Tobacco Retail Regulations
California Senate Bill 793 – PROHIBITING SALE OF FLAVORED TOBACCO PRODUCTS (Prop 31)
In 2022, California’s voters passed a law to ban the retail sale of flavored tobacco products. What does this mean for Mariposa County’s tobacco retailers? Once the law took effect in December 2022, Mariposa County’s 27 tobacco retailers were no longer allowed to sell the products described in the law. By law, if they had any products with flavors or flavor enhancers, they were required to remove the inventory from their shelves and stop selling it.
Great resource: 11/9/2022 – “Proposition 31 in California Passed! Now What?” - Public Health Law Center
California Assembly Bill 935 – STRONGER ENFORCEMENT FOR FLAVORED TOBACCO RETAIL LAW
Effective January 1, 2024, AB 935 went into effect to strengthen the flavored tobacco products retail law (SB 793), which left everyone wondering, “Who’s going to enforce this new law?” AB 935 established the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) as the primary state enforcement agency. In addition to enforcing the STAKE Act, the CDPH Office of Youth Tobacco Enforcement (OYTE) program is now responsible for enforcing the prohibition of retail sales of flavored products.
Great resource: 10/9/2023 – “California’s AB 935 Clarifies Enforcement for Illegal Commercial Tobacco Sales” – Public Health Law Center
