Effective October 2009, San Francisco imposed a fee on the sale of cigarettes within City boundaries – the first of its kind in the state.

The city conducted a litter audit that shows that cigarette butts and other cigarette-related packaging account for approximately 25% of all litter. To help mitigate the cost of cleaning up this litter, the city will collect a fee of $.20 on each pack of cigarettes, to be imposed directly on the purchaser at the point of sale. The revenue from this fee will be placed in the Environment Cigarette Litter Abatement Fund, to be used for cigarette litter cleanup from sidewalks and other public spaces; fee administration, collection and enforcement; and public outreach and education.