BERKELEY, Calif. – The city of Berkeley, California, is considering what would be among the nation’s strictest buffer zones for sale of tobacco products. The notoriously liberal-minded city – which became the first in the nation to pass a tax on soda and other sugary drinks last fall – will vote next month on an ordinance prohibiting the sale of tobacco products within 1,000 feet of a school or public park.

Berkeley’s tobacco ordinance is modeled after one in Chicago that established a 500-foot buffer zone for tobacco sales near child-oriented facilities. Berkeley’s proposal, however, would apply to many more types of products. Also worth noting, it would be more restrictive than the city’s marijuana law, which allows cannabis clubs within 600 feet of any school.

While some of the city’s councilmembers favor the tobacco buffer zones as a means for ending youth smoking and discouraging casual adult smokers, many of the city’s licensed tobacco retailers say the law, which would cover most of the city’s commercial districts, would destroy their businesses. As currently written, the ordinance would give affected store owners two years to sell their tobacco inventory and change their businesses.

According to Associated Press reports, “This is prohibition disguised as regulation,” said Tom Briant, executive director and legal counsel for the National Association of Tobacco Outlets Inc.