COSTA MESA

The youth advocacy group Speak Out! next month will discuss a proposal to have the City Council require stores to keep tobacco dispensers out of the reach of minors. Speak Out! has worked for the past year on an ordinance forcing merchants to take self-service tobacco displays off their counters. The council rejected the proposal in August by a 3-2 vote.

Eva Varma, one of the high school students working on the ordinance, said the group, which has grown from four to seven members, has worked to win more support for the ordinance and has lobbied new Councilwoman Linda Dixon for her support. The ordinance targets convenience stores and gas stations where minors have access to tobacco products, she said.

The group will present letters of support from mayors of other cities that have passed similar ordinances, and it also has support from merchants.