AURORA, Colo. — Aurora City Council could put new regulations on more than 300 tobacco retailers across the city in an effort to keep nicotine products away from kids.
During a council study session on Monday, council members discussed a city ordinance that would create a local license system for businesses selling tobacco, kratom, and age-restricted hemp products. Retailers would have to pay a $500 annual license fee, which would help fund twice-annual local compliance checks at stores.
Aurora Partners for Thriving Youth, a coalition that works to reduce substance use among kids, has been pushing for local tobacco retail licensing in Aurora. Haley Foster, the group's coordinator, said one in four kids report buying vapes directly from stores.
"I think some of the retailers are about making money, right, and not really about the health of our kids," Foster said.
She believes the most important part of the ordinance is enforcing local compliance checks, which involve someone under the age of 21 attempting to buy age-restricted items undercover. State law requires at least two annual compliance checks at tobacco and nicotine retailers, but Foster said that does not always get done due to a high number of stores.
"I don't think it'll put a burden on those that are not selling to minors," Foster said.
The ordinance would also increase penalties for businesses that are caught violating age restrictions. The proposed ordinance would not ban flavored nicotine products or kratom.
RJ Mello, who owns Cloud Craft vape shop in Aurora, said they are not against local tobacco licensing and welcome more compliance checks. However, Mello said one subsection of the ordinance, if passed, could wipe out all 55 vape shops in Aurora.
A portion of the ordinance would prohibit products in any manner prohibited by federal law. Mello said this could mean products not authorized by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) would be illegal in stores. They said while many of the products in vape shops are not authorized by the FDA, they are privately tested.
"There's nothing that you just put on the shelves, as is. Nobody can walk in here and sell a product that we have no health knowledge of," Mello said.
Mello said if the ordinance is passed with this subsection, it would lead to the closure of vape shops and more people turning to cigarettes, which are already regulated by the FDA.
"The unfortunate part about that is every single corner store, every single shop that sells cigarettes and promotes cigarettes, would not only stay open, but also profit off of that loss of market, and we would see a huge rise in cigarette smoking," Mello said.
During Monday's meeting, City of Aurora's Manager of Licensing and Finance Trevor Vaughn recommended council members remove language tying the ordinance to federal laws. City councilmembers are scheduled to make the first of two votes on the ordinance during a meeting on Monday, February 23.
