Cleveland's tobacco retailers are now required to obtain licenses each year to sell products such as cigarettes, cigars, e-cigarettes and vaping devices.
The licensing program, which went into effect October 27, is meant to reduce youth tobacco use, David Margolius, Cleveland's director of public health, told Ideastream Public Media.
"There are a number of particularly vape products that are sold directly to the youth," Margolius said. "There are flavors like purple jazz and pineapple party and and and all sorts of flavors that are clearly marketed towards recruiting children."
The intention to sell to youth is also apparent in where stores locate, Margolius said.
"Of all of our schools, 75% have one of these shops within a couple blocks of their borders," he said. "Clearly there's a a strategy here where these shops are trying to recruit new kids."
The licensing program provides regulators a tool to stop this activity, Margolius said.
"Now, we have our own local framework so that we're able to hold tobacco retailers accountable for for that illegal behavior," he said.
Under the program, retailers selling tobacco products in Cleveland must obtain an annual license by December 31 for each of their store locations. The license costs $500 per store, is non-refundable and must be renewed annually.
Each licensed location will also be subject to routine inspections, including compliance checks, where trained "secret shoppers" impersonating youth will attempt to purchase tobacco products. Inspectors will also verify that required warning signs and age restriction notices are visible to customers. Violations may result in fines and either suspension or revocation of the retailer's license.
The Cleveland Department of Health assigned six enforcement officers to enforce the ordinances. They'll begin inspecting stores in January, Margolius said.
The licensing program is part of a package of tobacco control ordinances that the Cleveland City Council passed in April as part of an effort to reduce not only youth tobacco use, but the growing number of smoke and vape shops in the city — as many as 800, by some estimates.
The ordinances also prohibit new smoke shops from opening closer than two miles from an existing store.
The licensing effort comes after a brief published earlier this year by the Cleveland Department of Public Health and Case Western Reserve University showed that while cigarette use declined in Cleveland by 45% between 2015 and 2025, cigar use increased by 39% and vaping increased by 42% during the same period.
