Tobacco sales to be banned for those under 21
City is joining more than 500 other local governments as bill passes
Amid rising public skepticism about e-cigarettes, the Denver City Council voted unanimously on Monday to ban the sale of nicotine vaporizers, cigarettes and other tobacco products to people under 21.
The city joined more than 500 other local governments nationwide, along with 18 states and Washington, D.C., with “Tobacco 21” laws. The bill was pushed forward by Mayor Michael Hancock’s administration.
“Denver’s a really influential community to take leadership in this direction, to raise the age of sale and enact tobacco retail licensing,” said Jodi Radke, regional director for Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. “And Denver is highly influential in terms of what happens at the state level.”
In fact, state legislators already are talking about a statewide “Tobacco 21” bill. But the conversation about tobacco in Denver isn’t over: The night also included a debate about where tobacco sales should be allowed, with the council rejecting two new rules.
Higher tobacco ages are likely to “prevent or delay initiation of tobacco use” by young people, according to a review of scientific studies by the National Academy of Medicine. That’s important because adolescents are “uniquely vulnerable to the effects of nicotine” as their brains develop.
The area’s major business interests did not weigh in Monday. Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce and the Colorado Chamber of Commerce both said they had no position on the change. The city health department hasn’t received any letters of opposition, staff said.
The new prevalence of youth vaping changed the conversation for retailers, according to Grier Bailey, executive director of the Colorado Wyoming Petroleum Marketers Association. About 18% of Denver middle- and high-school students have recently vaped, compared to just 5% for cigarettes, according to the 2017 Healthy Kids Colorado survey.
“For a long time, the association backed the concept that if you could vote, you could serve on a jury, then you had reached your maturity,” he said — especially when tobacco use was falling. But the rise of youth vaping gave a “definable” problem that the industry wants to help tackle, he said.
A change in the law won’t directly stop teens from getting tobacco products. More than 60% of student vape users in Denver reported that they got their fix from somewhere besides a business, according to the Healthy Kids survey — often meaning friends or the black market.
“They’ll probably sell them on the street,” said Rocky Johnson, 19, a Denver resident who smokes cigarettes.
His friend Tawann Patterson, 18, objected to the change in his rights. “I feel like you’re trying to degrade me as an adult,” he said. But both wished they had never started smoking, and Johnson acknowledged the law might not be a bad thing.
There’s evidence that the law will restrict access. It’s common for highschool students to know an 18-year-old who might buy them tobacco, but they are less likely to have 21-yearolds in their social networks, the National Academy report states.
More recently, the vaporizer industry has been in the spotlight following a dozen apparently related deaths. The illness could be linked to unregulated, black-market brands of THC vaporizer cartridges, according to the Centers for Disease Control. Teenagers in Colorado already are forbidden from using cannabis products.
In Colorado, only eight cities — including Boulder, Aspen and Glenwood Springs — already have 21plus laws for tobacco. Denver’s new law is effective immediately once it’s signed by Hancock, but enforcement will be ramped up over several months.
The council rejected part of the Hancock administration’s proposal to limit where tobacco sales can happen.
The bill would have required new vendors to be 1,000 feet from schools, child care facilities and rec centers, and 500 feet from other tobacco retailers.
The law also bans tobacco product vending machines.
It will remain legal for people 18 and older to possess tobacco products.