Quick Take
Santa Cruz County is moving toward a ban on the sale of filtered cigarettes in unincorporated areas, focusing on their environmental impact rather than health risks. If approved this month by county supervisors, the enforcement of the ordinance would begin in 2027.
On Tuesday, the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors is slated to take its first of two votes on a new law banning the sale of filtered cigarettes in the county’s unincorporated areas. If passed, the sale of traditional manufactured cigarettes in local stores would be prohibited starting in 2027.
District 3 Supervisor Justin Cummings and District 1 Supervisor Manu Koenig have been working toward the ban for more than a year. Their “Ban the Butt” campaign does not focus on the harmful effects of cigarette smoke on the body, but rather the impact the plastic filters have on the environment.
A 2023 report from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration found that cigarette butts accounted for 23% of all debris collected on Monterey Bay beaches between 2017 and 2021.
“As someone who has helped out on many coastal cleanups, I’m tired of picking up cigarette butts,” Koenig said in his Oct. 7 newsletter. “I’m tired of finding them on the beach; I’m tired of finding them outside my daughter’s bedroom door from some construction worker who knows how many years ago; I’m tired of finding them at the top of Tioga Pass in Yosemite.”
The ordinance would not ban the consumption of filtered cigarettes or tobacco products more broadly. Rolling, chewing, dipping and other forms of tobacco will remain available for sale. Marlboro Reds, Camel Lights and Black & Milds, however, not so much.
If the ordinance passes first and second votes set for Tuesday and Oct. 29, the ban would technically go into effect after 31 days, but the county wouldn’t begin enforcing it until Jan. 1, 2027. Cummings told Lookout the county wants to roll out a long runway before enforcement begins so consumers and business owners can get educated. Once 2027 rolls around, though, tobacco retailers could lose their license or have their license suspended if they still offer filtered cigarettes for sale.
The ban would not affect sales in the county’s four cities: Santa Cruz, Watsonville, Capitola and Scotts Valley. However, Cummings said city leaders have expressed interest in a similar law, but are waiting to see how the county’s effort plays out. The county and each of the four cities have passed resolutions recognizing tobacco waste as a threat to public health and the environment.
Cummings said he does not expect a big fight from the tobacco industry in part because Santa Cruz’s proposal stops short of the outright bans on tobacco sales passed in Manhattan Beach and Beverly Hills, and because the supervisors aren’t taking the issue to voters in a public referendum, which might invite heavy campaign spending, as seen in the soft drink industry’s fight against the city of Santa Cruz’s Measure Z proposal to tax sugary drinks.
“I don’t think the tobacco industry sees Santa Cruz County as a major piece of the industry,” Cummings said. “People will still be able to smoke, and if people want to smoke, that’s their choice. But we’re trying to address the pollution aspect of this.”
Have something to say? Lookout welcomes letters to the editor, within our policies, from readers. Guidelines here.