Kent to require $400 license to sell tobacco products; will fund enforcement of Tobacco 21

Businesses that sell tobacco products in Kent now will need a license from the city to do so.

Kent City Council voted Wednesday to follow up their Tobacco 21 law, a law passed four years ago that banned the sale of tobacco to those under 21, with the license, which will fund enforcement of the law.

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Representatives of the city's health department recently told council that the license fee of $400 per year would fund two compliance checks per year to make sure cigarettes or vapes are not being sold to minors.

Councilman John Kuhar voted against the ordinance and Councilman Garrett Ferrara abstained, but the other seven members of council voted in favor, allowing the legislation to gain the "super majority" of votes needed for approval.

The license would fund compliance checks twice each year to the estimated 28 retailers in Kent. Since passage of Kent's ordinance in 2018, state and federal leaders enacted legislation that banned the sale of tobacco products to those under 21.

Kent is now the 15th community in Ohio to approve a Tobacco Retail License, and advocates hope to take this program state-wide as well.

Kuhar said he was voting against the license law because he believed it was "an overreach." The city banned the sale of tobacco products to minors four years ago, and yet children are still getting them, he said.

"Kids have always gotten things they shouldn't be, and they always will," he said. "No matter what law you have, it's always going to come down to parents complaining about a store that's selling these products to their kids and investigating those complaints."

Councilwoman Heidi Shaffer Bish said the ordinance would "encourage good behavior" and said retailers who want to abide by the law would welcome the opportunity to "level the playing field."

Councilman Robin Turner said the city's health department has asked for the legislation because of a problem with enforcement.

"This is just another tool in the toolbox," he said. "I don't think it's government overreach."

Councilman Roger Sidoti said people expect those who sell alcohol or food to be licensed, and he sees no problem with asking people who sell tobacco products to be licensed as well.

Ferrara, however, said the state handles those license fees, and doesn't ask the cities to handle the licensing or enforcement.

Shaffer Bish pointed out that the Tobacco 21 legislation started at the local level and became a state and federal program.

"We are a leader in doing what's right," she said. "We are paying attention in Kent."

Councilwoman Gwen Rosenberg said vape products are being marketed to children, and the federal government has done nothing to regulate it. She said she believes asking retailers to get permits to sell such products is "absolutely reasonable."

"This seems perfectly reasonable to me," she said. "I think it will prevent a lot of addiction and heartache."

Reporter Diane Smith can be reached at 330-298-1139 or dsmith@recordpub.com.

This article originally appeared on Record-Courier: Kent approves tobacco retail license law to fund enforcement