Cincinnati, OH Business Licensing & Operations: Tobacco Retail License (2026)

Chapter 609, 'Sale of Tobacco Products,' folds vape and e-cigarette retailers into its general tobacco-retailer licensing scheme rather than creating a separate vape category. Section 609-1-T defines 'tobacco product' to include electronic smoking devices and tobacco product paraphernalia 'whether or not they contain nicotine,' and Section 609-1-E defines 'electronic smoking device' to cover e-cigarettes, e-cigars, e-pipes, vape pens, and e-hookahs. Because of that definition, Section 609-9's licensing mandate reaches any store selling vape products: no tobacco retailer may give, sell, or distribute tobacco products, vape products included, without a valid license issued by the board of health, and a retailer must obtain a separate license for each property or vending machine it owns or operates.

Licensed retailers must also post a sign at every point of sale stating that tobacco products, including vape products, cannot be sold to anyone under 21, with the sign's placement, size, and wording set by board of health rule. The licensing requirement took effect December 1, 2019, under Emergency Ordinance No. 363-2018, part of the city's broader Tobacco 21 program that also bars sales to anyone under 21 (Section 609-3). The board of health administers the license and can revoke it under rules it is authorized to adopt under Section 609-11.

Civil fines collected for licensing violations are deposited into a dedicated Tobacco 21 Fund used for enforcement, community education, and compliance efforts, rather than the city's general fund.