Local News in Brief : Countywide : County Moves to Evict Cigarette Vending Units
The death knell sounded Tuesday for cigarette vending machines in buildings owned or leased by the county.
County supervisors, none of whom smoke, heeded Supervisor Thomas F. Riley’s suggestion that the county establish a policy to get rid of the machines and to act immediately to carry it out.
Riley said, however, that some operators of concessions in county facilities--such as the cafeteria and newsstand in the courthouse in Santa Ana, and the golf courses in Mile Square Park--might be able to continue selling cigarettes if their leases allow it.
He asked the county General Services Agency for a report in 60 days on which leases permit continued sales of cigarettes and when those leases expire.
“Would you have done this 20 years ago?” Board Chairman Roger R. Stanton asked Riley, referring to the changing social attitudes against smoking.
“No,” Riley said, but added: “If I hadn’t stopped smoking in 1975, I probably would not be here talking to you.” Riley, 75, has suffered severe asthma attacks since 1979.
In recent years, the county has barred smoking except in designated areas in most buildings it owns or leases.
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