Cottonwood is now the first city in Arizona to make tobacco, nicotine and vapor products illegal for anyone under the age of 21. The ordinance unanimously passed Tuesday, and the group that pushed this hopes to enact similar bans in other Verde Valley communities.
The Yavapai Anti-Tobacco Coalition of Youth is responsible for the ordinance’s passage. The group faced off against opponents who argued the measure would negatively impact businesses.
Doug Bartosh, Cottonwood’s city manager, said this isn’t about punishing people or businesses.
"These are the people most impacted by this, why shouldn’t they have a say in how their community grows and what it looks like for them as the future unfolds," said Bartosh.
Bartosh added that the group provided data that showed businesses in other cities were minimally impacted when similar measures were enacted. However, the council asked the youth coalition to work with neighboring cities to pass similar ordinances as to avoid unfairly penalizing Cottonwood. The measure will go into effect in 30 days.
But can this Verde Valley community actually do this? Last March, Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey signed a bill making it illegal for a community to pass laws that conflict with state law.
"We don’t really think this particular health related ordinance is something the Legislature was targeting," said Bartosh. "I think this is something that they would recognize as a benefit to most any community, and again, talking about our kids."
