Public Health and Environment

Tobacco Sales Licensing

Smoking has been shown to cause several serious health problems which place a financial burden on all levels of government. Studies have shown that most people begin smoking before the age of 18, and that those persons who reach 18 without having started smoking are significantly less likely to begin.

The Washington County Youth Access to Tobacco Ordinance is intended to regulate the sale, possession and use of tobacco and tobacco products for the purpose of enforcing and furthering existing laws to protect minors against the serious effects associated with the illegal use of tobacco. It also furthers the official public policy of the state of Minnesota in regard to preventing youth from starting to smoke.

License Application

Application for a license to sell tobacco and tobacco products is made to the Department of Public Health & Environment or to the city which has jurisdiction in that area.

Sixteen cities in Washington County have their own ordinance. These cities are Bayport, Cottage Grove, Dellwood, Forest Lake, Hugo, Lake St. Croix Beach, Lakeland, Landfall, Marine on St. Croix, Newport, Oak Park Heights, Oakdale, St. Paul Park, Scandia, Stillwater and Woodbury. For questions about licensing in any of these cities, contact the city clerk.

Cities not listed above are under the jurisdiction of Washington County. For those areas the required annual license fee is $272. Seasonal license fee is $197 for vendors open seven months of the year or less. All licenses issued under this ordinance are valid for one calendar year, cannot be transferred to another place or person, and must be displayed in view of the public. A renewal notice will be sent by the licensing authority at least one month before they are due to expire.

Prohibited Sales

No one under the age of 18 years can purchase or possess tobacco or tobacco products.
No one else can purchase tobacco or tobacco products for anyone younger than 18 years of age.
No self-service merchandising of tobacco or tobacco products is allowed by vendors.
No one can sell tobacco or tobacco products from a vending machine unless the machine is in an area that cannot be entered at any time by someone younger than 18 years of age.

Compliance Checks

Mandatory compliance checks of vendors in cities under the county ordinance are done on a biannual basis by the licensing authority from the county.

Violations

Any licensee who violates this ordinance or whose employee violates this ordinance will be charged an administrative fine as follows:

$200 - first violation
$400 - second violation within 24 months of the first offense.
$600 - third violation within 24 months of the first offense. The license will also be suspended for 30 days.
After the fourth offense within a 24-month period, the license will be revoked.

Store clerks who sell tobacco or tobacco products to minors are also charged an administrative fine of $50.