Looking Out for Youth, Businesses

A coalition of community activists, residents and students is urging the San Fernando City Council to adopt an ordinance that would restrict outdoor advertisements for alcohol and tobacco products from placement within 1,000 feet of residential areas, schools, parks, playgrounds and places of worship. The council gave preliminary approval to the ordinance at a meeting last week.

The Tobacco Education, Action and Mobilization Collaborative, or T.E.A.M., is also requesting that the ordinance include a provision that would restrict self-service tobacco displays or machines in stores, as well as storefront advertisements for alcohol and tobacco products. KARIMA A. HAYNES asked two community leaders what impact the ordinance would have on residents and business owners.

GERARDO GUZMAN / 25, Sylmar; program coordinator, Pueblo Y Salud Inc., San Fernando

The messages that are carried on these billboards tell young ladies that if you smoke, you are going to be thin, beautiful and sexy, and young men that if you drink, you are going to be powerful, masculine and sexy. These are negative messages for children.

The type of prevention that we do at Pueblo Y Salud is environmental prevention. We are not talking about the influences that parents have on kids or the influences that kids have on their peers, but a third influence, which is that of the physical environment. If young people are going to school, the park or to church, they are constantly being [given] the message that smoking and drinking are cool.

The communities being targeted by the alcohol and cigarette industries are the poor and minority communities. These communities already face multiple problems. The tobacco and alcohol industries say to themselves, “These people have so many other things to worry about, they are not going to fight” billboards. In affluent communities, we see fewer alcohol and tobacco billboard advertisements, so we know that poor communities are being targeted. The tobacco and alcohol industries have to target younger populations because their economic livelihood depends on them.

The ordinance would mandate that all sales of tobacco products be merchant-assisted. This would effectively restrict all types of self-serve tobacco displays, machines and other ways kids can get tobacco products without interacting with a sales clerk who could check their IDs to see if they are of legal age.

In addition to getting parents and students to attend City Council meetings to let their feelings be known, we are also [conducting] a letter-writing campaign and petition drive.

I do believe that the City Council will vote to adopt the ordinance. Los Angeles adopted a similar ordinance in September 1998, and it will take effect in October [1999]. So later on this year, the communities that surround us--Pacoima, Sylmar and Mission Hills--will be in compliance.

JOE N. SANDOVAL / 37, Santa Clarita; president and CEO, Greater San Fernando Chamber of Commerce

The chamber supports the restrictions on billboards and self-service tobacco displays and machines. However, a third component of the ordinance, restricting advertisements for alcohol and tobacco products within stores, we do not support.

As with any issue related to a business’ ability to promote products and services, the chamber believes that restricting advertisements--such as posters, signs or lighted window displays--within stores would have a negative impact on a business’ viability. Any chamber of commerce should be cautious when it is asked to take a position to limit, deny or prohibit a business’ right to promote its products or services within its place of business.

We are looking for a balance between sustaining the businesses in our community, which generate tax revenue for city and social services, and the health and well-being of our residents. We are trying our best to address both the needs of our youth and our businesses, and that is a challenge.

If an organization wishes to take a position on billboard and storefront advertising and self-service displays and cigarette machines, that position must be consistent with the surrounding communities’. If we had restrictions here but right across the city limits there were no restrictions, consumers would buy products and services from those businesses outside the city. Now that Los Angeles has adopted an ordinance, this won’t be a problem. What we want to ensure is that we are being fair to all businesses.