Capitola unanimously approved an ordinance prohibiting the sale of cigarettes and cigars with filters
Ata Shaheen
CAPITOLA, Calif. (KION-TV) — The Capitola City Council unanimously approved its ordinance prohibiting the sale of any tobacco product that includes a component that is not intended to be consumed—specifically filters embedded within cigarettes or cigars.
The approval came from the council’s September 11 meeting.
The full agenda report, including background about the ordinance, is available here.
According to the document, “The ordinance will not be enforced until at least two incorporated cities in the County adopt similar legislation, or until January 1, 2027, whichever comes later.”
Capitola poised to ban sale of filtered cigarettes after unanimous vote
CAPITOLA, Calif. (KION-TV) — Capitola is following in the historic footsteps of Santa Cruz. It’s now on the verge of outlawing the sale of normal cigarettes.
Environmental and public health activists are celebrating, while store owners are worried about their livelihoods.
“It is time we enact policies that are truly that truly protect human health, public health and our environment,” said Council Member Melinda Orbach.
Dozens of people filled up Capitola’s council chambers Thursday night, and offered impassioned public comment
“If we pass this, you will see me back, suing the county and you.”
“Cigarette filters should be banned nationwide, and as the public comment letters show, the counties south of us are just waiting to follow your lead.”
The council unanimously adopted a resolution to ban the butt.
Supporters say it’s about protecting the environment, but it’s also about countering decades of tobacco industry propaganda and working toward a healthier society.
“Big tobacco has been, you know, deceiving people, lying about things and selling products that, you know, are designed to kill people. And these filters are just an extension of that problem. They kill our environment. They pollute our waterways, they get into the wildlife, they set fires,” said surfer and activist Taylor Lane.
Folks on the other side say the littering angle is just a cover for what’s really an attack on tobacco.
Alessandra Magnasco represents gas station and convenience store owners with the California Fuels and Convenience Alliance.
“Plenty of businesses would be happy to initiate a litter abatement fee on every single pack of cigarets. City of San Francisco has been doing this, I believe, for 10 to 15 years now. It’s worked great over there. I don’t see why. If Capitola really wants to address litter, why they wouldn’t do the same thing,” she said.
The main sentiment from those against the ban – it won’t move the needle on littering, but it could be catastrophic for their businesses.
“Tourists will bring their own cigarettes and litter. Smokers will simply shop nearby towns and still smoke on our beaches and our local business will lose revenue, lay off employees and even close now bankrupt,” said business advocate Sherry Deng.
Council member Orbach said she wants the city to work closely with tobacco retailers to ease them into the transition; however, it’s unclear what that would look like.
“I think this is a great opportunity for our local businesses to be creative and find different ways to bring in new revenue source,” said Orbach.
The ban in Capitola needs to pass a second vote at the next council meeting. It’s expected to have the same result, and then it will go into effect in July 2027.
That would make Capitola the second city in the world with such a ban. The same thing is already slated to go into effect in Santa Cruz 6 months earlier in January 2027.