The Cook County Board has approved a ban on selling flavored tobacco products in suburban Cook County. Cook County is the largest county in Illinois and contains 134 municipalities in its region, the City of Chicago being the most well-known.
Passed by a unanimous voice vote, the ban on the sale of flavored tobacco products applies to all vaping cartridges and includes menthol flavors, according to Audacy.
Under the ordinance, any of the reported 42 licensed tobacco retailers in unincorporated Cook could face a $250 fine the first time they are caught selling flavored vapes.
“Our statutory authority only applies to unincorporated Cook. Those businesses that are located in unincorporated Cook will be impacted,” Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle said. “When we make legislation of this sort, that’s where it applies. Local municipalities can enact their own legislation should they wish.”