The North Bergen Board of Commissioners has adopted an ordinance aimed at protecting minors from illegal tobacco sales. The new law, which will take effect in 2025, will require all tobacco retailers in the Township to obtain a local license from the North Bergen Department of Health. This will ensure that establishments are registered and local law enforcement can easily crack down on any illegal sale of tobacco products to underage individuals.
Upon the ordinance’s passage, Mayor Nicholas Sacco stated, “We are working with the state of New Jersey, our local health department and law enforcement to make sure that tobacco stays out of the hands of our young people. Thanks to our local T.A.S.E. program and the North Bergen Prevention Coalition, we have been able to collect meaningful data that corroborates what towns across the nation already know, our laws are not being enforced effectively. With the passing of this ordinance, our hope is that we are able to deter our young consumers from buying these substances by strengthening the laws that govern the spaces that sell to minors.”
A press release issued by the municipality says, “As municipalities across the state seek to fill in the gaps where the state is not able to act, Tobacco Age of Sale Enforcement programs are meeting the need to more effectively enforce tobacco regulations among those that are under the age of 21. The North Bergen Tobacco Age of Sale Enforcement (T.A.S.E.) program demonstrated to elected officials that local merchants were indeed selling these types of products to minors at alarming rates. Because of community efforts to demonstrate that a real problem was happening, North Bergen passed an ordinance that will require local establishments that sell tobacco products to seek a tobacco license from the North Bergen Department of Health.”
Any retailer that sells tobacco in North Bergen must now apply for a new license with the township every year. That means that retailers must be licensed by both the state and the township in order to legally sell tobacco.
North Bergen Business Administrator and Township Health Officer Janet Castro added, “By tightening our control surrounding tobacco sales, our hope is that we send a message to retailers that here in North Bergen we don’t condone the sale of tobacco to minors.”