Denver, CO Tobacco & Vaping: Flavored Tobacco Bans (2026)
Key Facts
- Rule
- Flavored tobacco sales banned citywide
- Citation
- DRMC § 24-404
- Exemption
- Hookah tobacco not covered
- Enforcement
- Civil penalty, not criminal charge
- Adopted
- Ord. No. 1765-24, December 16, 2024
Summary
Denver retail tobacco stores may not sell, give, barter, or furnish any flavored tobacco product or free samples to a consumer. The citywide ban covers flavored vapes and combustible products alike, with one carve-out: hookah tobacco stays legal to sell.
It shall be unlawful for any retail tobacco store to sell, offer for sale, give, barter, deliver or furnish to a user or consumer any flavored tobacco product or samples of such products.(b)This section shall not apply to hookah tobacco.(c)A violation of this section shall be a noncriminal violation upon which the manager is authorized to assess civil penalties as provided in article I, chapter 24.(d)Upon review on appeal pursuant to article I, chapter 24, there shall be a presumption, rebuttable by clear and convincing evidence, that a tobacco product is a flavored tobacco product if a retail tobacco store, tobacco product manufacturer, or any employee or agent of a retail tobacco store or tobacco product manufacturer has:(1)Made a public statement or claim that the tobacco product imparts a flavor other than tobacco, or imparts a cooling or numbing sensation, during consumption of that product;(2)Used text or images, or both, on the tobacco product's labeling or packaging to explicitly or implicitly indicate that the tobacco product imparts a flavor other than tobacco or imparts a cooling or numbing sensation during consumption of that product; or(3)Taken action directed to consumers that would be reasonably expected to cause consumers to believe the tobacco product imparts a flavor other than tobacco or imparts a cooling or numbing sensation during consumption of that product. (Ord. No. 1765-24, § 1, 12-16-24)
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 147 Update 3).
Full Breakdown
Denver Revised Municipal Code § 24-404 makes it unlawful for any retail tobacco store to sell, offer for sale, give, barter, deliver or furnish to a user or consumer any flavored tobacco product or samples of such products. Under § 24-401's definitions, a flavored product is one imparting a cooling, numbing, taste, or smell other than tobacco, menthol, mint, fruit, chocolate, candy, dessert, and alcoholic-beverage flavors are all named examples, and the definition reaches nicotine vapes as well as combustible tobacco. Hookah tobacco is expressly excluded from the ban. Violations are civil rather than criminal, assessed by the manager of the Department of Public Health and Environment, and the health department must report to city council each year on how the ban is working out.
Violations & Fines
Selling a flavored product is a noncriminal civil violation the health department's manager can penalize directly; repeated violations at one location can trigger a tobacco-sales suspension of up to one year under § 24-407.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can Denver stores still sell menthol cigarettes or vapes?
Is hookah tobacco covered by Denver's flavor ban?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Denver
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