Amending Chapter 9-4400 of The Philadelphia Code, entitled "Responsible Business Operations," to add illegal sales of tobacco products to minors and unlicensed tobacco retailing as nuisance behaviors, and require completion of a Department-approved Tobacco Retailer Education and Compliance Training as a condition of lifting a Cease Operations Order, all under certain terms and conditions.

Amending Chapter 9-4400 of The Philadelphia Code, entitled “Responsible Business Operations,” to add illegal sales of tobacco products to minors and unlicensed tobacco retailing as nuisance behaviors, and require completion of a Department-approved Tobacco Retailer Education and Compliance Training as a condition of lifting a Cease Operations Order, all under certain terms and conditions. WHEREAS, The City of Philadelphia has experienced a significant increase in the number of unlicensed or improperly licensed “smoke shops,” convenience retailers, and other establishments selling tobacco and nicotine products, many of which have opened without proper zoning approval, business licensing, or compliance oversight; and WHEREAS, The Philadelphia Department of Public Health and community stakeholders have documented a rapid rise in illegal tobacco sales to individuals under twenty-one (21) years of age, including flavored nicotine products and other youth-targeted items, contributing to addiction, chronic absenteeism, and school-based safety concerns; and WHEREAS, Illegally operating tobacco retailers frequently generate additional nuisance conditions-including loitering, public disorder, drug activity, and inadequate visibility into storefronts-that undermine neighborhood quality-of-life and disproportionately impact commercial corridors in communities of color and lower-income neighborhoods; and WHEREAS, The City has a compelling public health and public safety interest in curbin…