WEST HOLLYWOOD—The city of West Hollywood has been awarded a $75,000 state grant in an effort to combat the illegal sale of tobacco products to minors. The grant comes from the office of California Attorney General, Xavier Becerra.
According to a press release from the city of West Hollywood website, the grant is part of a statewide effort to create activities and programs that reduce the sale of cigarettes and other tobacco products to those who are underage. The goal of the grant is to create a tobacco training program, increase public awareness, check licensed tobacco retailers and organize operations to spot illegal tobacco retailers.
“The next generation — our local students — led the effort by participating in actions to expose retailers who were selling to underage youth,” adding, “I’m thrilled that the Attorney General has followed their lead by providing new funding for the City of West Hollywood and for communities across California to hold tobacco retailers accountable for selling cigarettes and tobacco products to minors,” said West Hollywood Councilmember Lindsey P. Horvarth.
The Attorney General’s office revealed that a total of $37.5 million in grants will be dispersed to 71 local entities throughout the state. The grant programs are a result of Proposition 56, The California Healthcare, Research and Prevention Tobacco Tax Act of 2016, which went into effect in April 2017. It raised the tobacco tax by $2 per package of cigarettes, with an equivalent increase in state excise tax on all other tobacco products.
For more information about the Proposition 56 grant program, visit https://oag.ca.gov/tobacco/highlights#prop56grants.
For additional deatils, contact the City of West Hollywood’s Public Safety Department at (323) 848-6414. For people who are Deaf or hard of hearing, call TTY (323) 848-6496. For up-to-date news and events, follow the City of West Hollywood on social media @WeHoCity and sign up for news updates at www.weho.org/email.
