With major focus on minors
The City of Palmdale has received $793,170 from the California Department of Justice’s Tobacco Grant Program to tackle the illegal sale of cigarettes and tobacco products to minors.
The grant will fund Palmdale’s tobacco compliance efforts, including retailer inspections, identifying and targeting problematic retailers, enforcement operations and single sales of flavored and unflavored tobacco products. The City’s Community Compliance division partners with the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department Palmdale Station to perform investigations and compliance checks, including minor decoy operations used to identify sales occurring to underage consumers. Additionally, the grant will support the installation of signage that displays City and state tobacco-related ordinances for no-smoking areas throughout Palmdale parks or within 25 feet of City facilities.
“This grant will allow Palmdale to continue working with LASD enforcing laws against sales to minors,” said Palmdale Mayor Laura Bettencourt. “I congratulate City staff who worked hard to qualify for this grant so we can continue these important efforts to reduce illegal sales and promote a healthier community.” The City previously received grants of $435K in 2018 and $361K in 2020.
The Tobacco Grant Program was made possible by the California Healthcare, Research and Prevention Tobacco Tax Act of 2016 (Prop. 56), which increased taxes on cigarettes and other tobacco products by $2.00 starting in April 2017. The initiative allocates a portion of the annual revenue to the California Department of Justice, which awarded 37 grants to government agencies and local entities throughout the state during this funding cycle.
For more information, call (661) 267-5181 or visit www.cityofpalmdaleca.gov/Tobacco.
