El Cajon Rejects Tougher Penalties for Tobacco Sales to Minors

Local convenience store owners opposed the proposal, calling it too strict.

Published on Feb. 12, 2026

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The El Cajon City Council voted down an ordinance that would have increased penalties for tobacco retailers who sell to minors, including longer suspension periods and a longer monitoring period. Local business owners argued the proposed changes would place an undue burden on their operations.

Why it matters

El Cajon has some of the strictest policies in San Diego County when it comes to underage tobacco sales, and city leaders were concerned that the current fines were not a harsh enough penalty. However, local businesses pushed back, saying the threat of having their operations shut down after a single violation was too extreme.

The details

The proposal would have added a five-day suspension of tobacco sales for the first violation, increased the suspension period for a third violation from 60 days to 90 days, and increased the suspension for a third violation from 120 days to 150 days. It also would have increased the monitoring period for violators from 36 months to 48 months. Convenience store and smoke shop owners argued the changes were too strict, with one co-founder of the Neighborhood Market Association asking city leaders, "What message are you giving to these family-owned businesses in your community as they try so hard to comply with the law you enacted?"

  • The last policy revision took place in 2020.
  • The number of violations has gone down since 2020, from 24 violations in 2020 and 2021, to 23 violations in 2022, 14 violations in 2023, 5 violations in 2024, and 13 violations in 2025.

The players

Phil Ortiz

Councilmember who said the proposal would put an "undue burden on businesses".

Arkan Somo

Co-founder of the Neighborhood Market Association who argued La Mesa's current penalties have served their purpose and an increase would be hard on local business owners.

Steve Goble

Councilmember who said "The existing policy works, I see no reason to make it tougher."

Gary Kendrick

The only Councilmember who voted against rejecting the measure.

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What they’re saying

“We're asking businesses for perfection and I don't know if that's ever going to be possible. I think this (would) put an undue burden on businesses.”

— Phil Ortiz, Councilmember (sandiegouniontribune.com)

“What message are you giving to these family-owned businesses in your community as they try so hard to comply with the law you enacted?”

— Arkan Somo, Co-founder, Neighborhood Market Association (sandiegouniontribune.com)

“The existing policy works, I see no reason to make it tougher.”

— Steve Goble, Councilmember (sandiegouniontribune.com)

The takeaway

This decision highlights the tension between public health concerns around underage tobacco use and the impact stricter regulations can have on local businesses. El Cajon's leaders ultimately decided the current policies, which have seen a decline in violations in recent years, were sufficient without placing additional burdens on convenience store and smoke shop owners.