Aurora advances retail tobacco licensing ordinance to curb under-21 access to vapes and tobacco

Key Takeaways

• Aurora City Council unanimously approved the ordinance on first reading Monday night; final vote is expected next month
• Ordinance aims to reduce under-21 access by increasing penalties for illegal sales and tightening retailer location rules
• Scope includes tobacco products, e-cigarettes/vape cartridges, kratom, certain psychoactive hemp products, and added oversight of hookah lounges
• Proposed penalties escalate: $1,000 first violation; $2,000 plus 7-day suspension second; $2,650 plus 21-day suspension third; license loss on a fourth violation within three years
• Proposed licensing: $500 annual fee to fund two compliance checks per year; projected $170,000 yearly revenue plus about $30,000 from fines

2Firsts, February 26, 2026 – 

According to The Denver Post, Aurora’s elected leaders took a first step toward making it harder for high school- and middle school-aged kids to access tobacco products that experts say are addictive and especially harmful to developing brains.

The report said the City Council unanimously approved a retail tobacco licensure ordinance on first reading Monday night. It aims to reduce underage access to tobacco products, such as e-cigarettes and vaping cartridges, by stiffening fines on businesses that sell those products to people under age 21 and tightening rules on where tobacco retailers can set up shop in the city.

The ordinance would also cover sales of kratom and certain psychoactive hemp products to minors and would give the city greater oversight of hookah lounges, the report said. The new law will be up for a final vote next month, and it would not ban the sale of flavored tobacco products, as voters authorized in neighboring Denver last fall.

Trevor Vaughn (Trevor Vaughn), Aurora’s manager of licensing, said the primary concern is that the products are targeted toward youth and that the city is addressing youth access to and usage of the products, according to the report. The report said Aurora Partners for Thriving Youth, a nonprofit coalition, has advocated for the move. Alison Reidmohr (Alison Reidmohr), a member of the group, said Aurora has a problem with retailers selling tobacco to youth and that the ordinance would improve resources for age-compliance checks.

Aurora Partners cited the 2023 Healthy Kids Colorado Survey, which the report said found nearly 84% of Aurora youth who attempted to buy tobacco or vape products in stores were able to do so despite being underage. The report said the city has about 340 tobacco retailers and that Aurora Partners says more than 100 are located within 1,000 feet of schools and recreation centers.

At Monday night’s meeting, Joyce Baker (Joyce Baker), a respiratory therapist at Children’s Hospital Colorado, said nicotine “has simply changed forms,” and told the council that kids are exposed to products such as disposable vapes, e-cigarettes, pods and nicotine pouches that are designed to be discreet, addictive and appealing, the report said. Baker showed a picture of a vape device resembling a doctor-prescribed asthma inhaler, describing “stealth vaping” by underage kids.

DeLisha Boyd (DeLisha Boyd), dean of students at Aurora’s Rangeview High School, told the council that responding to vaping has been one of the biggest disciplinary actions at the school and said students often buy vape products in bulk and resell them at school, adding, “Our kids are so addicted,” the report said.

Joe Miklosi (Joe Miklosi), a lobbyist for the Rocky Mountain Smoke Free Alliance, said his group was happy with the proposed ordinance. The report said his group advocates for 125 small vape stores in Colorado, 25 of which are in Aurora, and that many are minority-owned. The report said a draft provision that would have barred sales of tobacco and vape products not explicitly approved by the federal government was removed before Monday’s vote after it raised fears among vape shop owners that much of their inventory would be prohibited. Miklosi said adults’ freedom to buy what they want must be protected and pointed to vaping as a less harmful alternative to smoking, the report said.

Image source: Denver Post.