Santa Cruz County Supervisor Justin Cummings has proposed a cigarette filter ban. (Marcello Hutchinson-Trujillo — Santa Cruz Local file)
Santa Cruz County Supervisors meeting
- 10 a.m. Tuesday, Oct. 8.
- Attend in person at 701 Ocean St., Room 525, Santa Cruz.
- Watch on Facebook, join on Zoom or call 669-900-6833, meeting ID 817 3220 2363.
- To comment ahead of the meeting, email [email protected] by 5 p.m. Monday, Oct. 7.
SANTA CRUZ >> The Santa Cruz County Supervisors on Oct. 8 are expected to consider a ban on the sale of filtered cigars and cigarettes in the unincorporated county. Unincorporated areas include Live Oak, Soquel, the San Lorenzo Valley and other places outside the cities of Santa Cruz, Scotts Valley, Capitola and Watsonville.
Under the proposed rules:
- Stores could temporarily lose their tobacco licenses if they sell cigarettes or cigars with filters.
- Enforcement would start Jan. 1, 2027.
- Smoking filtered tobacco products would remain legal.
- The sale of e-cigarettes, chewing tobacco and unfiltered cigarettes and cigars would remain legal.
Supporters, including some surfing and environmental nonprofits, say the filters are toxic waste and do not make tobacco products healthier. While the tobacco and paper of a cigarette decompose, the plastic-based filters stick around. One in 4 pieces of litter found on beaches in the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary is from cigarettes, according to a NOAA study from 2017 to 2021.
Opponents include some cigarette vendors who have said the proposal would cut into sales and lead to layoffs. In a letter to supervisors, retailers wrote that the county should instead increase fines for littering and put more trash cans on beaches. The letter included nearly 600 signatures against the ban. About one-fifth of those signatures could be confirmed as Santa Cruz County voters, according to a county staff report.
The proposed rule was shaped by the Santa Cruz County Tobacco Waste Subcommittee, a collaboration of public officials, nonprofit leaders and advocates. County supervisors created the group in May 2023 to draft potential new rules to reduce cigarette filter litter.
The cities of Santa Cruz, Watsonville, Scotts Valley and Captiola have signed resolutions declaring tobacco filters a public health and environmental threat. The cities could pursue their own filter bans.
If supervisors approve the ban Oct. 8, it would return to the board Oct. 29 for final approval.
Jesse Kathan is a staff reporter for Santa Cruz Local through the California Local News Fellowship. They hold a master's degree in science communications from UC Santa Cruz.
