Cook County requires retailers selling e-cigarettes, vape pens, and liquid nicotine to hold a tobacco retailer license under Ch. 74 and to collect the county's tobacco tax including the per-milliliter vape tax established in 2016.
Cook County Code Ch. 74, Art. XI imposes the Tobacco Tax including a tax on liquid nicotine products at $0.20 per milliliter and on consumable products at the standard tobacco rate. Retailers in unincorporated Cook County must obtain a county tobacco retailer license from the Department of Revenue and renew annually. Licensed retailers cannot sell to anyone under 21 (matching state T21) and must verify ID for buyers under 30. Many suburbs run their own tobacco licensing; the county license is required in unincorporated areas and stacks with municipal permits where both apply.
Selling without a license: $1,000 first offense, $2,000 plus license suspension thereafter; tax evasion can trigger triple-damages plus criminal referral to the State's Attorney.
See how Evanston's vape retail rules rules stack up against other locations.
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