Columbus, Ohio Sues to Shut Down Smoke Shop Over Flavored Tobacco, Underage Sales

[JohnS]

Columbus, Ohio Sues to Shut Down Smoke Shop Over Flavored Tobacco, Underage Sales

November 13, 2024 - Charlie Minato

While Massachusetts remains at the forefront of tobacco legislation in the U.S., there is perhaps no state where tobacco regulation is more currently hotly contested than Ohio.

Today, Zach Klein, the Columbus city attorney, announced that his office has filed a lawsuit against a local smoke shop, arguing that the business has continued to show a “flagrant disregard for tobacco regulations.” If successful, the lawsuit would have the business classified as a public nuisance and it would likely be shut down.

The business in question is Smoke House, located at 5439 Roberts Road in Hilliard just northwest of Columbus proper. According to the complaint, Smoke House has violated bans on underage sales and flavored tobacco sales. Specifically, it alleges that Columbus Department of Public Health (CPH) has made eight underage purchases. This year, CPH has made multiple purchases of flavored tobacco products, including one when a Smoke House employee allegedly asked a CPH agent if the agent wanted to “smell cannabis.” Recreational marijuana is legal in Ohio, though it requires licenses.

A search of the U.S. Food & Drug Administration’s tobacco compliance check shows that Smoke House had a successful inspection in 2021 with no violations found.

“This case exemplifies why it’s important for local health departments to monitor compliance with tobacco regulations. CPH has the capacity to ensure the law is followed,” said Klein in a press release. “This isn’t something we should ask law enforcement to spend limited resources on. The legislature overstepped on this issue, and we will continue to fight to protect the health and safety of our youth and the public.”

A press release says that last month, CPD sent the owners of Smoke Plus a letter saying that it was planning to revoke Smoke House’s tobacco license. A week later, an application was sent for a new license under the name “Smoke House Plus” that would continue tobacco sales at the same location. The press release says that the store has changed operators twice, each time just weeks after an undercover underage purchase was made.

Columbus, the state’s capital, has been at the epicenter of Ohio’s flavored tobacco ban fight that Klein is referencing. In December 2022, the Columbus City Council passed a ban on the sales of flavored tobacco products. The Republican-controlled Ohio General Assembly, which was in a special lame-duck session targeted at other issues, immediately responded by passing a preemption clause, which would have prevented cities from enacting their own bans stricter than state law.

In January 2023, Gov. Mike DeWine—also a Republican—vetoed the bill, citing his longstanding objection to the sale of flavored vapes. Because of a technicality, the General Assembly wasn’t able to override DeWine’s veto.

Later last year, the General Assembly tried to pass the preemption language again, and this time, it overrode DeWine’s second veto. After that, Columbus and others sued, and a local court issued a temporary injunction, which kept Columbus’ law in effect and prevented the state law from being enforced. That appeal remains ongoing, but Columbus’ flavored tobacco ban has been in effect since mid-May.

Source: https://halfwheel.com/columbus-ohio-sues-to-shut-down-smoke-shop-over-flavored-tobacco-underage-sales/444804/

[Ford2112]

Not like the good old days when old man Hellam would sell us 13 year olds cigarettes. He had a voice box thingy like that character from south park and smoked cigars like a chimney. I wish I had a time machine.