Council OKs Limits on Alcohol, Tobacco Ads
The City Council adopted an ordinance this week that prohibits outdoor alcohol and tobacco advertising within 1,000 feet of residential areas, schools, parks, playgrounds and anywhere children might gather.
The ordinance, which is expected to receive final approval at the May 3 City Council meeting, will take effect on Oct. 1, officials said.
“It reduces the temptation and the visibility of alcohol and tobacco for kids in the city,” said Raquel Quezada of Pueblo y Salud, the nonprofit social service organization that lobbied for the ordinance. “We do many presentations at schools and lots of students say they were actually driven to smoke or drink by advertisements.”
San Fernando already has a strict liquor license law, which requires that establishments serving alcohol be at least 600 feet apart and that there be that same distance between the establishment and any place children might gather.
The new advertising ordinance will help the city’s image as well as its youths, said Councilwoman Cindy Montanez.
“This is an ordinance all cities need,” she said. “We need to protect the health of minors.”
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