New fact sheets: Options for condo residents affected by drifting secondhand smoke or working to make a condo complex smokefree. Also in this series: Fact sheets on legal options for tenants affected by secondhand smoke, how disability laws can help tenants and how landlords can prohibit smoking in rental housing.

Methamphetamine use has become so prevalent in some parts of California that efforts to combat it have overshadowed efforts to reduce tobacco use among youth. TALC and the Center for Tobacco Policy and Organizing have developed a new fact sheet outlining how advocates can combine efforts to limit sales of illegal drug paraphernalia with a local tobacco retailer licensing ordinance.

TALC recently mailed out copies of the 2009 edition of "Tobacco Laws Affecting California," a fully updated booklet providing summaries of laws regulating secondhand smoke exposure, the sale and marketing of tobacco products, and more. The booklet was mailed to California tobacco control advocates, state elected officials, local government attorneys, and enforcement personnel. Contact TALC for additional free copies of the booklet or download a PDF here.

California cities and counties can adopt or enforce several different laws to regulate tobacco retailers, such as Penal Code section 308 and the STAKE Act. TALC has put together a comparison chart outlining key elements of each law.

Find out how TALC’s new ordinance checklists can help you sort through the steps and policy options involved in getting a local ordinance adopted. Watch our previously recorded webinar explaining how to use the new checklists for our ordinances on regulating tobacco sales through licensing or land use, prohibiting tobacco sampling, and creating smokefree recreational areas and beaches.

TALC's updated model licensing ordinance includes 12 optional "plug-in" provisions, offering communities a variety of ways to use licensing as a tool to enforce numerous tobacco-related laws and encourage compliance with local business standards. Download the revised ordinance and new plug-ins.

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