Smoke shops take a hit as flavored tobacco ban upheld in Columbus

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- Flavored tobacco sales will remain banned in the city of Columbus and several other Franklin County cities. A Columbus judge ruled Friday that a state law prohibiting cities like Columbus from banning tobacco sales is unconstitutional. 

A group of around a dozen cities including Columbus, Cleveland, Bexley, Grandview Heights, and Dublin sued the State of Ohio after the Statehouse passed a bill making such bans illegal. Gov. Mike DeWine then vetoed that bill, but it was bypassed by the Statehouse.

Advocates for the flavored tobacco ban supported the measure to "protect kids" who they say are being marketed to by tobacco companies making bright colored and flavorful products like vapes, cigars and pouches.

In January, NBC4 spoke to the owner of Epic Puff in Clintonville. They said around 90% of their business was predicated on flavored tobacco sales. A quick google search and stop by their location on N. High St. shows they are now closed permanently. 

They weren't the only small business hit hard when the ban went into effect.

"The first month we went down by half in revenue. We've since bounced back because other people are starting to get fined now. They're still carrying the flavors, but we're still not where we were this time last year," said Zoe Villalobos, owner of The Joint in the Short North neighborhood. "I came to terms a couple of weeks ago with the fact that we're never getting flavors back. We started shoring up things in the store to make room for other things.”

Villalobos said she took all the flavored tobacco products off the shelves when the ban took place. But, she said not every shop did the same.

"They (customers) aren't going to other cities. They're going down the street to another place and buying what they want and they're doing it illegally," she said.

It's a stiff penalty for selling flavored tobacco illegally within city limits.

"The first time is $1,000. The second time is $5,000, and the third time is $10,000. And you lose your tobacco license," said Villalobos.

The flavored tobacco debate is far from over in the U.S. Biden Administration officials postponed discussions of a nationwide ban in late April.

Several shop owners NBC4 spoke to said the target of tobacco is "unfair." Villalobos said if officials are going after flavored tobacco for targeting kids, they should go after flavored alcohol too. 

"I don't think that you can say that one flavor is marketed to children i.e. vapes and not go back and look at the vodkas and the whiskeys and everything else that's also being marketed to kids as well," she said.