Aurora City Council passes ordinance targeting underage tobacco, vape sales

Late Monday night, the Aurora City Council voted unanimously on a city ordinance, cracking down on retailers and smoke shops that sell tobacco and vaping products to people younger than 21 years old.

The ordinance will create a new inspection and licensing program for retailers selling tobacco, kratom, and other THC products, with the goal of reducing youth access and usage and protecting kids from tobacco products. There will also be more oversight and enforcement over products marketed toward young people.

Restrictions would also prevent new shops from being closer than 1,500 feet from schools and 2,000 feet from other vape and smoke shops.

Under the new ordinance, shops that sell tobacco would have to get retail licenses and would be subject to more inspections. The city will now check up on businesses twice a year with an enforcement system that's more aggressive than the current state's system. A fourth violation within 36 months could result in a company losing its license. Shops say these regulations are incredibly harsh and could put them out of business.

On Monday night, council members had questions about a resolution regarding the reporting and evaluation of the ordinance.

"I am very interested in us having valuable and really good reporting around it, being sure that we are fair and that we are being equitable in terms of how we're tracking how our young people are being impacted and also how our businesses are being impacted as well," said Councilwoman Stephanie Hancock. "From the beginning, I thought the ordinance was a well-thought-out ordinance for the record."

City officials say it could take months to implement the new licensing system and program.