Health officials urge tougher tobacco retailer license penalties, proximity limits to curb youth vaping

Leah Baylor, a health planner with the Clark County Combined Health District, told the Springfield City Commission that the district recommends tightening the city’s tobacco retailer license to reduce youth access to nicotine products.

Baylor summarized local survey and enforcement data and asked commissioners to back enhancements to Springfield’s Tobacco Retailer License (TRL) ordinance. She said the TRL, adopted in October 2021 and implemented in January 2022, already requires retailers to buy a $150 annual license and covers e-cigarettes. "This tobacco retailer license is really important. It can protect youth from early exposure to addictive nicotine," she said.

The health planner said the district’s 2023 youth risk behavioral survey of nearly 4,000 Clark County middle- and high-school students found that 16 percent had tried a cigarette and 28 percent had tried an electronic vapor product; 13 percent used an…