Cleveland City Council Approves Laws to Substantially Curtail and Regulate Smoke Shops

Vape Land on Euclid Avenue downtown. New laws approved this week will soon force every smoke shop in town to pay around $300 to $500 a year for a license to legally sell product. Credit: Mark Oprea

Cleveland’s proliferation of smoke shops may have hit its peak.

A suite of new laws passed by Cleveland City Council on Monday intend to greatly cut back on the number of shops in the city, along with placing close watch on the hundreds around Cleveland that, for the most part, operate without major regulation.

Starting in October, every smoke shop—now defined as any retailer with a fifth or more of its storefront devoted to tobacco products—must be licensed with the city, which will run them roughly $300 to $500 per year.

They’ll also be subject to a handful of health inspections. Anyone selling kratom, Delta-8, or vapes to adults under 21 could face fines up to $1,000. Fail your fourth inspection in a year and a half? Your license will be revoked.

The new laws are also meant to put the kibosh on oversaturation — no one can open up a smoke shop within two miles of an existing one, or 500 feet of a school, library, park or playground, which could calm concerns in neighborhoods like Clark-Fulton and Old Brooklyn.

Dave Margolius, the director of the Cleveland Department of Public Health who pitched this suite of tobacco regulations to Council in March, said such requirements are not meant to stymie business. But rather, he said, to keep a more reasonable quota of cigarette, vape and kratom sellers.

“Smoke shops and tobacco retailers have proliferated in this city, and now, thanks to this new set of laws, we have the tools to fight back,” Margolius told Scene in a text message. A “healthy environment means people are able to quit smoking, or never start in the first place. And breathe easier.”

Detroit, Columbus, Cincinnati have had regulations in place to stymie oversaturation for year. Columbus’ ban on flavored tobacco, which has led to closed stores for violators, has long been on Margolius’ wishlist of legislative tools that could cut down on vaping rates in teenagers, for example.

City Council has long been cautious of approving such laws, fearing it might hurt profit margins for already struggling corner stores. But as far as any laws whatsoever, Cleveland is relatively dry.

The new laws are set to take effect 180 days from Monday, in early October. Shop owners will apply for a license via a portal on the city’s website yet to be designed, Margolius said.