Tobacco Businesses Would be Controlled, Salt Lake County News
Tobacco businesses would be subject to specific license requirements under a law to be enforced by the Salt Lake County Council on Tuesday. The legislation, planed to bring the county in compliance with a new state ordinance calling for specific licenses for tobacco businesses, gives regulators power to suspend or void business licenses of retailers that sell cigs or even smokeless tobacco to youngsters, which is banned under federal regulation.
The law also would take aim at sales of controlled substances or reducing controlled substances, such as Spice, bath salts or other substances banned for sale or consumption under local, state or federal legislation.
Tobacco businesses are characterized as those that produce more than 35 per cent of their total gross every year receipts from the sale of smoking products, according to the proposed new regulation. Products include cigars, cigs, electronic cigarettes, chewing tobacco or any other substance for a tobacco product, including flavorings or also additives to tobacco.
County Councilman Steve DeBry declared that tobacco businesses that follow regulations and ordinances regarding the sale of smoking products will not be affected by the proposed new smoke-free ordinance.
But the regulation enables law pressure and licensing officials to act against those “involving in unlawful activity,” he told.
“Bad actors who open tobacco stores are not going to be able to keep their ‘tobacco license’ if they violate the legislation,” DeBry added.
State ordinance, after which the law was patterned, states that retail tobacco specialty businesses cannot be within 1,000 feet of a school, kid care opportunity, church, library, public park or playground, youth center and public arcade or within 600 feet of property zoned for agriculture or residential use.