Corte Madera, Calif. Moving Forward With Total Tobacco & Nicotine Sales Ban

If you leave San Francisco and drive north via the Golden Gate Bridge, you’ll enter Marin County and pretty quickly the town of Corte Madera. Depending on how quickly you get there, you may not be able to purchase any tobacco or vaping products.

Yesterday, the Corte Madera Town Council voted 3-2 in favor of an ordinance that will ban the sale of all tobacco and nicotine products, except devices that have been approved by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration as cessation devices, meaning they are used to transition consumers from cigarettes and other tobacco products to things like nicotine patches or gum. The law is not yet final; the Town Council will hold a second vote at its next meeting. If it passes then, the new law will take effect Feb. 1, 2027.

The law will ban the sales of tobacco and vaping products both in-person and those ordered online and delivered to residents in the town. A report prepared for the council acknowledged that it’s unlikely that the town could effectively stop online orders.

Staff does not anticipate that the Town would be able to monitor all online or out of town sales in real time,” said the report. “Staff intend to provide notice to known sellers and to request address-based delivery restriction upon adoption of an ordinance, along with retailer and public education. Enforcement would likely be complaint-based initially and coordinated with County/State partners.”

There is no exemption for cigars of any kind, though Total Wine, which has a store in Corte Madera, submitted a comment specifically requesting an exemption for handmade cigar sales.

“On behalf of Total Wine & More and our Corte Madera store team, we fully support the Council’s underlying goal of preventing youth access to nicotine products. However, we respectfully request a targeted amendment to the draft tobacco retail ordinance to exempt the sale of premium, high-end cigars when sold within strictly age-gated retail environments,” said Matt Ernesto, director of state and local government and industry affairs for Total Wine & More, in an email to the town. “Customers visit our store to celebrate life’s milestones; a graduation, an engagement, or simply the end of a great week. Premium cigars are an adult-oriented luxury product enjoyed during these occasions, fundamentally distinct from the flavored vapes, pouches, and electronic devices driving youth nicotine addiction.”

The meeting, which can be viewed here, included in-person comments from numerous people, including a representative from the National Association of Tobacco Outlets, which is opposed to the ordinance, but also numerous high school students who spoke in favor of the ban.

Corte Madera has a population of around 10,000 people. It’s one of a handful of Marin County municipalities that in the past year have debated total tobacco bans.