Athens is considering a tobacco licensing program to curb underage smoking
By: Parker Kopronica
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ATHENS, Ohio (WOUB) — The Athens City Council is considering an ordinance that would require tobacco retailers to get a city license — part of an effort to keep tobacco products out of the hands of underage consumers.
Under the program, retailers would have to undergo compliance checks twice a year from the Athens City-County Health Department. This is when an underage person working with the agency goes in and attempts to buy a product illegally.
Athens Mayor Steve Patterson said the ordinance was proposed after hearing about the use of smoking products in the city’s schools.
“We’re seeing too many underage individuals in the intermediate school, middle school and high school age range that are smoking,” Patterson said. “The law is rarely enforced at the state level, so this gives us the opportunity to enforce it here.”
Athens High School Principal Chad Springer said the school consistently deals with vaping incidents on campus.
“We’re getting reports of vaping daily,” Springer said. “Even though vaping is seven years past its novelty, we’re still seeing consistent vape usage.”
And it’s not just Athens struggling with this.
The Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that roughly 2.8 million people under 21 use tobacco products. Of this number, nearly 12.6% are high school students and 6.6% are in middle school.
To help curb this trend, in 2019 both Ohio and the federal government raised the minimum age for the purchase of all nicotine products from 18 to 21. However, Ohio has not taken a statewide approach to ensure compliance with the law.
So, to ensure retailers are complying, cities across the state have adopted tobacco retail license (TRL) programs similar to the one being considered in Athens.
Among these cities are other college towns such as Kent, home to Kent State University, and Oxford, home of Miami University.
The ordinance would require any retailer that sells tobacco products to obtain a license. This includes grocery stores, vape shops, gas stations, bars and convenience stores.
The ordinance also would regulate where these shops can be located.
The city could deny a license if a retailer is within 500 feet of another licensed tobacco retailer or a “youth-oriented facility.”
A youth-oriented facility is defined as any licensed daycare, preschool, elementary school, middle school, high school or public park. It also covers any establishment that advertises itself as intended for people under 21 or if people who regularly patronize or congregate at the establishment are underage.
Retailers in Athens who have had a state tax license for cigarettes and have been in their current location for at least one year would be exempt from this location restriction.
The proposed ordinance includes several other reasons for which a license could be denied: for example, if the applicant has a violation of any tobacco laws in the last three years, if they have previous unpaid fines from violations of the ordinance, or if the business is not in a fixed location.
The ordinance also includes a scaling fine and suspension policy for retailers who violate the licensing agreement.
Retailers on the first violation will pay a $350 fine, with each subsequent citation increasing the penalty. After five violations the retailer’s license could be permanently revoked along with a $1,000 fine.
Athens’ proposed program also introduces the threat of an unclassified misdemeanor if fines are not paid within 30 days, something not seen in licensing programs established by other cities in Ohio.
An unclassified misdemeanor carries a penalty of up to $1,000 in fines and 500 hours of community service.
The Tobacco 21 Foundation, an initiative aimed at curbing underage nicotine consumption, helped write the model language the ordinance is based on. The foundation’s Ohio regional director, Wendy Hyde, said the goal is to close a loophole that exists in state law.
“Laws are only as effective as the enforcement mechanism tied towards them,” she said. “TRLs are a way of making sure that all tobacco retail locations are being overseen.”
Some local shop owners, though, have concerns about the proposal.
James Wanke, founder of the Silver Serpent Exotic Gifts in uptown Athens, said this license will negatively affect local businesses.
“It impacts us, it impacts our employees and it impacts me,” Wanke said. “It’s going to hurt local businesses, especially new businesses. It’s one more barrier to stop people from trying to run a business in the city.”
Wanke explained he is afraid of employees’ mistakes being held against his business.
“People make mistakes and mistakes get taken out of context,” Wanke said. “Then somebody is going to decide they don’t like us. That’s the torch and pitchfork mentality against vaping.”
Hyde on the other hand argues that if anything, the ordinance is good for local businesses.
“TRLs level the playing field for all retailers,” Hyde said. “Some retailers are very good about following the law, but kids know exactly who they need to go to to be able to buy their product.”
Since being proposed the ordinance has undergone several changes that have slowed its progress toward a final vote.
The ordinance is up for a second reading at the City Council’s final meeting of the year on Monday. This means the council will not be able to pass it unless they suspend the rules that require a third reading before a vote.
Another reason the council is working fast to pass the ordinance is because its sponsor will be off council on Jan. 1. Councilmember Sarah Grace did not run for reelection, and her term ends at the end of the year.
If it’s not passed on Monday, the ordinance will be tabled. It would then go back to the starting line with a new sponsor.
If the ordinance does pass on Monday, it could take effect as soon as late January. However, if it does not, the earliest the ordinance could go into effect is early March.