A proposed nicotine-buying ban for Pima County residents under the age of 21 was rejected Tuesday by the Board of Supervisors.
The board’s morning vote resulted in a similar proposal for Tucson being delayed by the City Council at their meeting later Tuesday.
While the council is still considering such a ban for inside the city limits, it delayed their vote because its proposal was written in anticipation of the county’s approval.
A majority of council members indicated they would be willing to increase the minimum buying age.
The proposed county ordinance change would have restricted sales of tobacco and e-cigarettes within parts of unincorporated Pima County to people age 21 and older and implement a permit system to regulate retailers.
Supervisors Ally Miller, Steve Christy and Sharon Bronson voted against the changes Tuesday, as they indicated they would during an Aug. 6 meeting.
The county ordinance was re-written after two public meetings earlier this month, eliminating permit suspensions as penalty option for retailers who sell to underage buyers.
Instead of suspensions after a second and third violation, a retailer would face monetary fines for the first three violations and revocation of the permit on the fourth violation.
Several people spoke in support of the ban during the public comment period of the meeting of the county supervisors, although spokespeople from the American Cancer Society and American Heart Association withdrew their support based on the changes to the penalties. They said age-based tobacco measures are only successful with adequate compliance methods.
Opponents of the ban, including three people representing retailers, said they supported raising the smoking age, but believed it needed to happen at the state level.
