Cleveland's Zoning-Development, Planning and Sustainability Committee unanimously passed ordinances April 8 in an effort to limit the number of smoke and vape shops in the city.
Those ordinances include prohibiting new smoke shops from opening closer than two miles from an existing store and limiting advertising to 25% coverage of exterior windows.
The vote is the latest in a series of committee votes on the matter driven by council and residents' concerns with the rapid growth of smoke shops, which now number approximately 600 in the city, according to David Margolius, Cleveland's director of public health. Something must be done to prevent further access to the addictive tobacco and vaping products these shops sell, he said.
“The number of smoke shops in Cleveland and the negative health consequences they have on our residents is truly at a crisis point," Margolius said. "There are just way too many smoke shops in the City of Cleveland, and this legislation is a solution to that."
The severity of this crisis was made clear by the committee's unanimous decision to make these emergency ordinances, which ensure the law goes into effect immediately upon passage, he said. Otherwise, there can be a lag time of up to a month before a law becomes effective.
Councilmembers, including Joseph T. Jones, who represents Ward 1, said these shops sell products that, while unregulated, can present a significant health risk to residents and need to be investigated.
"We don't want a Sodom and Gomorrah in our neighborhood," he said during Tuesday's hearing. "We're tired of our neighborhoods being targeted by these people coming in our community, oversaturating with liquor, alcohol, tobacco — it's like that's the only product you can sell. Can't you give me a grocery store?"
One unregulated product of concern is nitrous oxide, which is inhaled to give an individual an intoxicating or euphoric feeling.
Nitrous oxide provides this feeling by depriving the brain of oxygen. Repeated use can have serious health consequences, said Dr. Ryan Marino, a University Hospitals medical toxicologist.
"If people use this chronically, it actually leads to breakdown of your nervous system, and this is through functional vitamin B12 deficiency," he said. "Nitrous oxide basically inactivates the vitamin B12 in your body that is necessary for a number of functions, and will lead to breakdown of nerves, even spinal cord and brain damage."
But shop owners and vaping advocates counter that their businesses make a positive difference by offering tobacco alternatives that can help people stop smoking.
Mohammad Hamad, owner of Fli High Vape and Smoke Shop on Clark Avenue in Cleveland's Clark-Fulton neighborhood, claimed he's helped 11 mostly elderly smokers quit over the last four years through vaping. Hamad also argued that his products help customers deal with chronic pain and sleep problems.
“They need your help, probably they want to quit smoking cigarettes," he said. "You have to have the knowledge for this. You have to know your vapes — which one is good for them, which one is not good for them.”
The next step comes April 14, when the council’s Finance Committee will consider the zoning and advertising ordinances, along with ordinances that set age limits on the sale of tobacco and vaping products while prohibiting the sale of marijuana. Cleveland council members will also discuss potential product bans during the vote. The full council is expected to vote later that day.
