Oxford currently has 27 businesses licensed through the county to sell tobacco, including eight specialty shops and six gas stations. On High Street alone, eight businesses sell tobacco products within a third of a mile. Under the new density regulations, which cap tobacco licenses a one per 1,500 residents at the time of the last decennial census, Oxford can have a maximum of 16 license-holding businesses.
Assistant city manager Jessica Greene said current businesses will be grandfathered in. If a business closes, though, the city won’t grant a new license because it’s already over its new limit.
Amy Macechko, a wellness coordinator for Talawanda School District and the director of the Oxford Coalition for a Healthy Community, said the new city measures tie in to the work Talawanda has been doing to reduce the use of tobacco products among students. She said the district approaches tobacco use as a health issue and focuses on education and awareness, as well as helping make resources available to help young people quit.
“This is an epidemic across our country with young people today ... It definitely impacts the health of our students and the overall safety of our school,” Macechko said.
At a July 18 city council meeting, Oxford Police Lt. Geoff Robinson said more than 100 vapes had been confiscated at Talawanda High School in the past six months. The new ordinances will also prevent tobacco retailers from opening within 500 feet of “a youth-oriented facility” to limit access to minors.
State and federal laws already set the minimum age of sale of tobacco products to 21, but Oxford is strengthening that position by passing its own legislation. In compliance checks this June, Oxford Police Chief John Jones said several stores sold products to underage costumers, including Red Ox Drive-Thru and Miami Smoke Shop. VIP Smoke Shop failed four separate times.
Jones said the department also did compliance checks last March and August. In March, Oxford Hookah Lounge and Popular Smoke and Vape failed, while Popular Smoke and Vape failed again in August, as well as VIP Smoke Shop.
“Our youth are telling us they’re getting [tobacco products] through a variety of means, so implementing a tobacco retail license is a policy that can definitely help reduce access when it comes to retailers in the community,” Macechko said.
The city council also discussed future measures to look into to further curb tobacco use in minors, including a ban on flavored products and signage explaining the dangers of tobacco use. Assistant City Manager Jessica Greene said the city would look into more options and bring them forward “at the right time.”
“It might be a while,” Greene said, “but we’ll make sure we can start inching that along.”
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