CLEVELAND — Public health leaders are raising alarm bells about the growing number of vape and smoke shops in Cleveland neighborhoods, where smoking is the leading cause of death.

While Cincinnati and Columbus both require businesses that sell tobacco products to get a license, smoke shops in Cleveland are largely unregulated.

Now, Cleveland City Council is considering legislation that would prevent new shops from opening within two miles of an existing one and require those shops to get tobacco retail sales licenses.

“During those inspections we make sure that there is Tobacco 21 signage, that they’re not selling to anybody under 21 and that they’re also verifying identification by asking for ID,” Dr. David Margolius, Cleveland’s Public Health Director, said in a committee meeting Monday morning.

While the exact number of smoke shops in Cleveland is unknown, Margolius estimates there are between 450 and 600, and he said the city has already received more than 70 formal applications for new smoke shops since the start of this year. 

He claims some shops are using a loophole in the state’s marijuana law to sell hemp products, like delta-8 THC, which is sometimes called “diet weed.” Some of those shops are branding themselves as “dispensaries,” despite not having a state license to sell cannabis.

Margolius said he’s working with public health leaders across the state to address this loophole.

“It’s going to be really tricky, but I'm going to lean heavily on our partners, on what Columbus is doing, Cincinnati,” Margolius said. “We're going to advocate to the state to help us in clarifying the different rules of the different THC strains and that sort of thing. And, if we have to enter in a contract with a lab to help figure this out, that's what we'll do, because it's really important.”

Another piece of this legislative package would allow the city to better enforce its 21 year age requirement to purchase tobacco products. If it passes, Margolius said the city would hire young people for “test purchases” to ensure businesses are complying with the law.

This legislation must first go through another committee in the coming weeks before council votes on whether to approve it.