A stroll around Baltimore shows a bright new addition in many neighborhoods: fluorescent islands on otherwise dim blocks. Smoke shops. They’re impossible to miss.
They seem to be popping up everywhere and their distinctive LED-rimmed windows have been triggering complaints from neighbors. Plus there’s confusion over what they are and what kinds of merchandise they sell … and to whom. City officials are concerned about sales to young people and the illegal sale of drugs inside, and a package of bills to regulate and limit these businesses was introduced by the city council last fall.
Regulators have noticed smoke shops’ rapid proliferation: a recent report from the Baltimore City Health Department counted more than 1,200 licensed tobacco retailers in the city. That works out to 15 smoke shops per square mile…