A study published in Nicotine & Tobacco Research found that tobacco retailer density in California decreased both immediately and over time following a 2016 license fee increase from a one-time-only fee of $100 to an annual fee of $265, with more pronounced impact in ZIP codes with higher proportions of people with low incomes and with a majority of Black residents. Licensing-fee increases “could be an effective policy tool to reduce tobacco use among economically disadvantaged and Black communities, thereby addressing tobacco-use disparities,” the authors wrote. Read the paper.