New ordinnce would ban sale of filtered cigarettes

The Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday unanimously approved an ordinance that will, in a little more than two years, ban the sale of filtered cigarettes in unincorporated areas of the county.

The Supervisors will hear a second reading and final adoption on Oct. 29.

Santa Cruz-based Save Our Shores says that volunteers picked up more than a half-million cigarette butts in the Monterey Bay area over the past decade, a problem made more pervasive by the toxic chemicals in the plastic filters. Worse, they remain in the environment for years.

“This is a momentous day that builds on the work our community has been doing for generations to protect our environment and establish Santa Cruz County as a global leader in the environmental movement,” Board Chair Justin Cummings said. “While the County is the first to take this step, by no means will we be the last. We look forward to working with local cities and other jurisdictions to protect our coast, our environment and our people.” 

The ordinance was developed by the Board’s Tobacco Waste Ad Hoc Subcommittee and supported by a broad coalition of environmental, health, educational and other groups and stakeholders. 

Once implemented, the ordinance would prohibit the sale of filtered cigarettes. It will not affect the sale of unfiltered cigarettes or cigars, loose-leaf and chewing tobacco, unflavored vape pens or other tobacco products. The ordinance will go into effect Jan. 1, 2027 or when two other local jurisdictions pass similar prohibitions, whichever is later. 

“Cigarette butts are the most littered item on the planet, they provide absolutely no health benefit to smokers, and they are poisonous to the environment. Let’s ban this toxic trash,” Supervisor Manu Koenig said. “This is a day for all Santa Cruz County residents to celebrate, and our hope is that this will be a catalyst for change throughout California and the rest of the country.” 

While many members of the public spoke in favor of the new rule during the hour-long public comment period, some retailers expressed alarm at the unintended consequences.

Felix Blanco, who owns two businesses, proposed solutions such as adding disposal stations at beaches and supporting wider cleanup efforts. But he said that the new rule will affect a broad swath of different businesses.

“All the retailers, we’re not going to be able to adjust like you’re saying,” he said. “Some of us are going to go out of business”

Sherry Dang, who owns 7-Eleven stores in Watsonville and Santa Cruz, said that customers will simply go to other businesses for their filtered cigarettes.

“I don’t want to be the one that trashes our environment, but banning tobacco will hurt our retailers,” she said.

The proposed ordinance is not the first time the county has taken steps to reduce its environmental footprint. It was one of the first counties in the nation to implement curbside recycling to local ordinances banning single-use plastic bags, prohibit the use of polystyrene to-go containers, ban single-use plastic shampoo bottles in visitor accommodations and require to-go cups and single-use food service wares be certified compostable, among other things.

Former Santa Cruz County Supervisor Mark Stone, who also sat on the California Assembly, said that state lawmakers tried four times unsuccessfully to enact a similar law, but they all died in committee each time.

“The tobacco industry spends millions of dollars lobbying even in California, most of that money goes to members of that committee,” he said. “So it was no surprise; we knew we had an uphill battle.”

Stone also pointed out that the $1,000 fine for throwing cigarette butts out car windows is rarely enforced and has no impact.

“Nobody seems to care, and most smokers don’t care about it,” he said. 

Lawmakers also looked at alternatives to banning filtered cigarettes such as reusable filters. Those, however, were deemed unworkable.

“I talked to a lot of smokers, and the smokers say get a cigarette, they light it, they smoke it and they toss it,” Stone said. “That’s what they do, and that’s not going to change.”