Smokers beware: The sale of tobacco products will soon be banned in Beverly Hills, California.
Beverly Hills is the home to many famous and wealthy people in the United States. The city council unanimously voted to snuff off sales of tobacco products in their community.
By 2021, cigarettes, e-cigarettes, cigars, and other nicotine products will no longer be available at convenience stores, gas stations, and pharmacies. However, a special allowance will be made for hotels and high-end cigar lounges.
Officials in the Los Angeles suburb, known for celebrities, glamour, and over-the-top wealth, believe their ban is the first in the nation.
The bill was passed in the city council with a vote of 5-0.
Before the voting of the bill, Council Member Lili Bosse said:
"This was just truly a landmark moment for our city for our community."
Bosse added that banning tobacco sales is aligned with Beverly Hills' reputation as a healthy city. She expressed confidence that other cities might follow suit with their prohibitions.
The law states:
"Allowing tobacco products to be sold in the city increases access to these harmful and dangerous products and does not promote the city's image as a healthy city."
Other regions across the country have also passed similar ordinances, but Beverly Hills' tobacco ban is by far the most restrictive.
San Francisco, also in California, announced an ordinance to ban the sale of electronic cigarettes. According to City Attorney Dennis Herrera, the new law is an attempt to push vape companies through an FDA review.
Herrera said:
"E-cigarettes are a product that, by law, are not allowed on the market without FDA review. For some reason, the FDA has so far refused to follow the law."
"Now, youth vaping is an epidemic. If the federal government is not going to act to protect our kids, San Francisco will."
Cigarettes are among the leading death-causing substances throughout the world.
Modern tobacco products may contain toxic, poisonous chemicals and carcinogenic compounds. These constituents can lead to addiction and health risks to tobacco uses.
Cigarettes also contain over 4,000 harmful chemicals that are not revealed to the public. Instead, the information on cigarette content is protected by "trade secrets."
The global cigarette trade has been valued at around $559.9 billion. And according to the World Health Organization (WHO), cigarettes are likely to kill an average of 1 billion people in the 21st century if the current smoking trend continues.
Like most industries, the global cigarette market is controlled by a few multinational corporations. The companies spend large amounts of capital in advertising to ensure the product remains in demand.
Before smoking side effects were considered a global epidemic, large tobacco companies would hire doctors, influencers, celebrities, and dentists to endorse them.
At some point, health practitioners would even advocate that smoking was good for your health.
But modern scientific studies have proved the opposite. Researchers have shown that cigarettes kill and it is among the worst possible substances you can consume.
Though the tobacco ban in Beverly Hills is for the public's good, most retailers have opposed the ordinance. The National Association of Tobacco Outlets claims that local tobacco sellers in Beverly Hills could see a monthly income fall of between 25 percent to 45 percent due to the ban.
