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Page 8 of 10 City of Redwood City 1017 Middlefield Road, Redwood City, CA. 94063 Tel: 650-780-7000 www.redwoodcity.org Section Changes Article VI – Prohibiting the Sale of Flavored Tobacco, Electronic Cigarettes, and the Sale of Tobacco Products in Pharmacies Renumber as Article V Add reference to Article VI for enforcement authority Article VII – Enforcement and Penalties Add penalty and enforcement authority for entire Chapter Add public nuisance designation and compliance monitoring authority This narrow approach to limiting smoking in the public right-of-way focuses on areas where the most people – including most non-smokers – are likely to congregate, i.e. pedestrian-focused streets and next to dining and drinking establishments. Because the recommendation does not include blanket prohibitions on smoking in the public right-of-way, there are still enough places for smokers to smoke without designating specific smoking areas, an approach mentioned in some community feedback. It also gives business owners and City enforcement a law to reference if there is a violation. Although the most popular place to limit smoking was outdoor dining areas, staff have not specified outdoor dining in the ordinance, as we believe that limiting smoking in proximity to restaurant/bar entrances and in the pedestrian malls is broad enough to cover most outdoor dining areas in the public right of way. Staff currently are updating the Outdoor Business Activity Program Standards and Guidelines, which govern the use of the public right-of-way for doing business, and will include smoking prohibitions in outdoor dining areas in the Standards and Guidelines. These changes are coming before the City Council this winter. There are three businesses in Redwood City which are exempt from the City’s existing prohibition on the sale or distribution of flavored tobacco for on-site hookah consumption. In recognition of this exemption, the proposed Ordinance delays enforcement of the smoking prohibition within Pedestrian Malls, and within 20 feet of any entrance, exit, window, or other opening into a restaurant or bar, for those three exempt businesses until August 31, 2025. As noted in the Background, staff anticipates bringing additional amendments to the Smoking Regulations with respect to the sale of flavored tobacco to resolve this conflict by July 2025. EQUITY IMPACT STATEMENT Staff considered equity and/or inclusion in development of this item by assessing the health benefits and burdens of tobacco policies by age and gender of those potentially impacted, and by considering the impact on businesses. As referenced in the Background section, most adult smokers started before age 18, people with lower levels of education are more likely to smoke, and men are more likely to smoke than women. Reducing exposure to smoking by limiting it in public right-of-way could improve these statistics. More importantly, secondhand smoke effects on all can be as burdensome in outdoor spaces as in indoor spaces. 73.7% of youth in the California Youth Tobacco Survey agreed that smoking in all public places should end.19 Staff also assessed impact on businesses affected by smoking and by 19 California Department of Public Health, California Tobacco Facts and Figures 2024. 8.A. - Page 8 of 37 234