Amherst, NY: A local ordinance was proposed to raise the legal age to 21 to purchase tobacco products and to ban the sale of flavored tobacco products. Testimony by retailers and a letter sent by NATO opposing the restrictions were helpful in the Amherst Town Board amending the ordinance and removing these provisions.
Newburgh, NY: An ordinance was introduced for consideration by the Newburgh City Council to ban the display of tobacco products from the public view and only allow retailers to provide adult customers with a “tobacco menu” booklet from which to select tobacco products to buy. NATO and a tobacco manufacturer sent letters to the City of Newburgh explaining that the proposed display ban violates the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and the New York State Constitution which protect commercial speech in the form of advertising. Since displaying legal products is a form of advertising, the proposed ban on tobacco displays is unconstitutional. The attorney for the City of Newburgh has informed NATO that further consideration of the proposed display ban will be postponed so that the council members can research alternative restrictions.
Brooklyn Center, MN: Recently, the Brooklyn Center, Minnesota city council directed the city’s police department liaison to research a proposal to raise the legal age to purchase tobacco products to 21. NATO coordinated efforts by the local retailers to encourage their customers to call the Brooklyn Center city council members to oppose this potential increase in the legal age. The Brooklyn Center city council has since announced that it will not proceed with considering an ordinance to increase the legal age to purchase tobacco products.
San Diego, CA: In 1998, the San Diego City Council adopted an ordinance to ban the placement of tobacco advertisements: (1) in a publicly visible location, (2) within 1,000 feet of a school, playground, child care center, or library, and (3) on the inside or outside of retail store windows or doors if the advertising was visible to the public from outside the establishment. Recently, a proposal was introduced to the San Diego City Council to extend these advertising bans to e-cigarettes. NATO sent a letter to the San Diego City Council and the city attorney explaining that both the 1998 ban on tobacco advertisements and the extension of those same prohibitions to e-cigarettes were unconstitutional. In response, the San Diego City Council is repealing the 1998 tobacco advertising restrictions and not adopting the extension of those restrictions to e-cigarettes.
NATO started the Local Project in 2012, monitoring proposed local tobacco-related ordinances and assists retailers across the country in responding to those ordinances.