During Sacramento City Council's meeting on 7/21, councilmembers unanimously voted to remove the unprecedented "Healthy Food Exemption", a loophole in the Tobacco Retail policy that allowed 38 more retailers to open. Dr.
by Allie Reimold, PhD, Jennifer Falbe, ScD, MPH, Elisa Tong, MD, Melanie Dove, ScD, Kimberly Bankston Lee, Anissa Adams, Twlia Laster
Background
As of 2025, the City of Sacramento had 325 tobacco retailers,1 roughly 55% more (115 retailers) than recommended by the Public Health Law Center for tobacco retailer density.2
by Bob Gordon, Robin Corelli, Melanie Dove, Allie Reimold, Tingting Yao, Jim Knox, Liz Hendrix, Kenneth Wilkerson, Jen Grand-Lejano, Tim Gibbs, Shelly Brantley, Chris Anderson, Elisa Tong
What is Assembly Bill (AB) 957 and what would it do?
AB 957 would end tobacco sales by pharmacies. Introduced in February 2025 by Assemblymember Ortega and coauthored by Assemblymembers Addis, Connolly, and Garcia and Senators Becker and Rubio, 1 AB 957 would end the retail sale of tobacco in pharmacies by prohibiting licensed pharmacies from also having a Tobacco Retailer License (TRL). Businesses with a pharmacy would not be allowed to sell tobacco products anywhere on the premises.
According to a Bloomberg report, Walgreens will resume selling e-cigarette products in approximately 6,000 of its nearly 8,000 U.S. locations. This marks a reversal from its decision in 2019 to pull e-cigarettes from their shelves.
The Greater Sacramento Smoke & Tobacco‑Free Coalition held their Annual Recognition Event to highlight the accomplishments of individuals and organizations that made significant strides in alleviating the burden of smoke and commercial tobacco products in the community in 2025. Several UC Davis Health team members were honored for their leadership and impact on reducing tobacco use. Read more about their efforts here.
AB 573, authored by Assemblymember Chris Rogers (D−Santa Rosa), would increase the annual TRL fee from $265 to $450 beginning July 1, 2026. The bill authorizes CDTFA to further increase the fee up to $600, as needed to cover reasonable costs of administering the act. It also directs the Legislative Analyst’s Office to report on:
The Tobacco Facts and Figures 2025 report by California Tobacco Prevention Program, California Department of Public Health features data on tobacco product use, flavored tobacco products, tobacco cessation and health, secondhand smoke and vape exposure and tobacco-free policies, consumption and access, and ending commercial tobacco in California.
