At its meeting on Tuesday morning, the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors voted to ban the sale of all flavored tobacco products within the unincorporated areas of the county, as well to prohibit the sale of any tobacco products at pharmacies.

There is one exception to the ban: the duty-free retail stores at San Francisco International Airport, which falls under the jurisdiction of the county. The ordinance will go into effect in 30 days, however the provisions will not become enforceable until Jan. 1, 2019.

San Mateo County is home to approximately 765,000 residents.

Avatar photo

Patrick Lagreid

I strive to capture the essence of a cigar and the people behind them in my work – every cigar you light up is the culmination of the work of countless people and often represents generations of struggle and stories. For me, it’s about so much more than the cigar – it’s about the story behind it, the experience of enjoying the work of artisans and the way that a good cigar can bring people together. In addition to my work with halfwheel, I’m the public address announcer for the Colorado Rockies and Arizona Diamondbacks during spring training, as well as for the Salt River Rafters of the Arizona Fall League, the WNBA's Phoenix Mercury, the G-League's Valley Suns, and previously the Arizona Rattlers of the Indoor Football League. I also work in a number of roles for Major League Baseball, plus I'm a voice over artist. Prior to joining halfwheel, I covered the Phoenix and national cigar scene for Examiner.com, and was an editor for Cigar Snob magazine.