Raw Smoke Shop in Palo Alto is set to have its permit to sell tobacco suspended for 90 days after Santa Clara County discovered that the California Avenue shop was selling vaping products and flavored tobacco in violation of a city ordinance.
The Santa Clara County Department of Environmental Health (DEH) issued Raw Smoke Shop owner Mohammad Hammad a notice of violation last month. The Palo Alto City Council voted to ban the sale of electronic cigarettes and flavored tobacco in 2020 in an effort to curb vaping.
The sanctions against Raw Smoke Shop come after the county confirmed during three separate inspections that the business was selling products that violate Palo Alto's rules, according to a copy of the violation notice that the county shared with this news organization.
DEH received a complaint last September alleging that Raw Smoke Shop was selling flavored tobacco and electronic cigarettes. County staff conducted an inspection on Sept. 30 and a follow-up visit on Oct. 5. Both times, violations of Palo Alto municipal code were observed and county staff gave the business a report instructing it to stop illegally selling flavored tobacco and e-cigarettes, according to the violation notice.
The county received another complaint on Nov. 30, and staff from the county public health department conducted a compliance check on Jan. 27. During that check, staff were able to purchase a flavored e-cigarette product, which can't be legally sold in Palo Alto.
Raw Smoke Shop is now required to stop selling all flavored tobacco and vaping products, pay a $1,000 fine and stop selling or displaying any tobacco product (not just flavored ones) for 90 days beginning April 1.
The shop is allowed to continue legal sales after the 90-day suspension, but will be subject to increasing penalties for any future violations, DEH spokesperson Larry Little said in an email.
Raw Smoke Shop has scheduled a meeting with DEH for March 15 to discuss compliance requirements and be given an opportunity to demonstrate that the violations didn't occur, Little said.
Raw Smoke Shop did not respond to a request for comment before this news organization's deadline.
Comments
Registered user
Embarcadero Oaks/Leland
on Mar 7, 2022 at 10:14 am
Registered user
on Mar 7, 2022 at 10:14 am
Oh no, grandpa's smoking his pipe with cherry tobacco again.
Registered user
Woodside
on Mar 7, 2022 at 10:27 am
Registered user
on Mar 7, 2022 at 10:27 am
September-March....continued selling banned products.
Now going to discuss in April?
What exactly is a ban ?
Registered user
Adobe-Meadow
on Mar 7, 2022 at 10:44 am
Registered user
on Mar 7, 2022 at 10:44 am
I wonder about the PACC. Whisky Gulch existed precisely to provide alcohol to Stanford students seeking a way around Leland Stanford's desire for a "dry town" in the 1900's. He failed since anyone could simply walk or drive out from under his moralism.
Same thing here. Stop tilting at windmills, Palo Alto!
Registered user
Fairmeadow
on Mar 7, 2022 at 2:03 pm
Registered user
on Mar 7, 2022 at 2:03 pm
The people I know who are tobacco addicts all got addicted as teens. A city-level ban likely increases the friction for teens getting started. As such, it's worth doing.
Registered user
Greenmeadow
on Mar 8, 2022 at 5:42 pm
Registered user
on Mar 8, 2022 at 5:42 pm
So Palo Alto votes overwhelmingly to legalize marijuana for recreational use but bans flavored tobacco vaping products. Make sense to me.