NEW HAVEN, Conn. — Mayor Justin Elicker inked sweeping smoke shop restrictions into law Thursday following a spate of complaints and alarming findings by city officials.
“And found that there were other substances being sold other than tobacco products,” City Health Director Maritza Bond said, referring to health department inspections of local shops. One such raid led to a major seizure.
“There was a big drug bust in my ward where they had over a thousand ecstasy pills that were being sold out,” said Ward 27 Alder Richard Furlow, who served on the working group that helped craft the regulations.
The new ordinance requires all tobacco sellers — including smoke shops, convenience stores, and gas stations — to obtain licenses from the city Health Department by October 1. Licensing will allow officials to monitor operations more tightly. Shops must also now follow new window advertisement guidelines aimed at deterring youth exposure.
“We’ve been hearing a lot of complaints from folks who are fed up with the spread of smoke shops all over town, the advertising that’s trying to get our kids addicted to these harmful products,” said Ward 7 Alder Eli Sabin.
A separate ordinance tackles zoning. New shops must be 3,000 feet from any existing ones, and at least 1,000 feet away from schools, parks, or houses of worship.
“We have 212 tobacco and nicotine retailers in a city of 139,000, we don’t need any more of these shops,” Elicker said.
Under the new rules, there’s reportedly only one sliver of land left where a new smoke shop could legally open.
“The illegal activity and the quality of life issues that have come up at a lot of these smoke shops in our neighborhoods, it’s time to crack down and make sure that these businesses are operating according to the law,” Sabin said.
