FIGHTING BACK IN LIVERMORE
LIVERMORE YOUTH & TOBACCO
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Cheap Tobacco Products Are Sold In Livermore Stores
When we surveyed Livermore tobacco retailers with Alameda County Public Health in spring 2026, cigarillos were sold as singles at 86% of stores for as low as $1.09. These products are a roll of tobacco wrapped in tobacco leaf and are often used with marijuana.
Photo: Donovan Seymour
We also found nicotine pouches at about 90% of stores and offered promotionally for as low as $1.99. Cigarettes sold for as low as $3.03 and smokeless tobacco for as low as 76 cents. Over 60% of retailers had discounts or price promotions for tobacco products.
Livermore Students Know
Where to Go to Get Tobacco
Forty-one percent of Livermore Valley Joint Unified School District (LVJUSD) juniors say it’s easy to get cigarettes and 59% say the same about e-cigarettes.
In 2022, 38 of Livermore’s more than 60 tobacco retailers were visited by an underage decoy and five of the stores sold to them (13%). Surveys consistently find that many underage users get tobacco from stores, and very few buy their devices online.
While existing law does not allow new tobacco retailers within 1,000 feet of a youth-populated area, there were still 34 stores within that distance in May 2026.
© California Department of Public Health
Stock photo. Posed by model.
LGBTQ+ Youth In Livermore Use More Tobacco
LGBTQ+ youth face more stress because of discrimination, which leads them to try tobacco earlier and at higher rates than their peers.
Queer LVJUSD students are twice as likely to report feeling hopelessness or persistent sadness and up to ten times as likely to use tobacco.
Livermore Community Members Want Stronger Policies
A 2021 Bay Area Community Resources survey of 104 Livermore community members found support for more comprehensive tobacco laws:
77%
wanted to reduce the number of locations where tobacco could be sold
73%
supported prohibiting discounts for tobacco products
60%
believed Livermore should set a minimum price for tobacco citywide
© California Department of Public Health
Livermore Can Continue to Lead
Livermore was ahead of the curve in 2019 when the city took the bold step of ending the sale of flavored tobacco and e-cigarettes. In 2020, the city fought off a Big Tobacco-funded referendum that sought to reverse that progress.
Since then, Pleasanton, Unincorporated Alameda County, Hayward, and other Bay Area jurisdictions have adopted even stronger laws to address where and how tobacco is sold.
Cities on the leading edge are ending all sales of tobacco in stores.
Manhattan Beach and Beverly Hills have not allowed any tobacco sales since 2021. Capitola, Santa Cruz, and Santa Cruz County will no longer allow filtered products like cigarettes and cigars after 2027.