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'Black market will emerge': Community members discuss ban on sale of flavored tobacco products

Council voted Monday night to ban the sale of flavored tobacco products starting in 2024.

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Columbus City Council voted Monday night to ban the sale of flavored tobacco products starting in 2024.

While city leaders say the ban targets young people, the owner of Top Notch Vapor in north Columbus said her store has strict policies in place to keep minors away from flavored tobacco.

“The median age of our customers is 46. We're strictly a 21 and over establishment. We use third-party age verification,” says Rutland, who says it’s a responsibility she takes very seriously.

However, Columbus Public Health says 30% of Ohio high school students and 12% of middle school students smoke e-cigarettes and 13% of middle school students have used a flavored tobacco product.

Amanda Turner, who is with the Preventing Tobacco Addiction Foundation, is glad the ban was approved.

“These products were created to attract new users, specifically kids, when you have flavors like bubble gum, and watermelon and cherry. And we've even seen some flavors called cereal milk,” said Turner, who shares she’s concerned that not all local shops are monitoring underage purchases.

At the last public hearing, Columbus Public Health, which performs the local compliance checks on tobacco retailers, shared that vape stores' compliance rate is just as bad as convenience stores and gas stations.

Rutland said her store would have to close immediately once the ban takes effect, and she wouldn’t be able to provide the product to her adult customers who need it the most, with a demographic mostly aged 40-60.

Rutland fears kids will turn to a black market to get the product if the ban goes through.

"If this goes through, basically what you could have is 20-year-old people that decide to mix in their basement and sell to people to make a profit, not giving sales tax to the state,” she shares.

However, Turner disagrees, saying, “what we've seen in other towns and states and other places who have done this same law, they are not seeing an illicit market. They're not seeing an underground market where tobacco is being sold on the street corners or out of the trunk of cars.”

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