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Beverly Hills becomes first US city to ban most tobacco sales

Posted at 12:24 PM, Jun 05, 2019
and last updated 2019-06-05 12:24:20-04

The lives of the rich and famous are about to get a lot less smoky after the Beverly Hills City Council voted to ban the retail sale of most tobacco products Tuesday night in a first-of-its-kind ordinance.

The law will go into effect New Year's Day in 2021.

The retail sale of cigarettes, cigars, pipe tobacco, chewing tobacco and electronic cigarettes sold in gas stations, convenience stores, pharmacies and grocery stores will be banned. This is the first U.S. city to end most tobacco sales.

There are some exceptions though — existing cigar lounges can still operate and hotels will be able to sell cigarettes and other items to its guests.

"We pride ourselves on being a healthy city and I feel so proud that we are really about to prove that we are taking steps to be among the healthiest city in the world," said Council Member Lili Bosse.

Beverly Hills was the first city in California to ban smoking inside restaurants and most public places back in 1987.