Washington City, Utah Says No More Tobacco Specialty Shops

If you had plans of opening a tobacco specialty shop or e-cigarette store in Washington City, Utah, you might want to rethink your plans, as the city council doesn’t want your business.

At its meeting on Jan. 10, the council voted 4-0 in favor of prohibiting any new e-cigarette or tobacco specialty retailers from opening. One of the five council members abstained from voting.

Tobacco licenses can still be granted to grocery and convenience stores, places with an on-premises alcoholic beverage sales license, pharmacies, or places that have held a business license for any business that was lawfully selling tobacco products and tobacco paraphernalia under that license prior to May 8, 2012.

The legislation has been in the works for over a year-and-a-half, though it had been delayed due to concerns that it would target existing retailers, possibly for just a single sales violation, though a revision to the language in the bill helped alleviate those fears. A tobacco retail license will also able to be sold as part of the sale of a business, though the law prohibits moving the physical location for which the license was issued. Existing license holders must also keep their license current as well as their business open and functioning as a specialty tobacco retailer to avoid having their license revoked.

The ban goes into effect immediately.

Washington City is located in southwestern Utah, roughly 123 miles northeast of Las Vegas, Nev. It is home to just over 25,000 residents.

Patrick Lagreid

I strive to capture the essence of a cigar and the people behind them in my work – every cigar you light up is the culmination of the work of countless people and often represents generations of struggle and stories. For me, it’s about so much more than the cigar – it’s about the story behind it, the experience of enjoying the work of artisans and the way that a good cigar can bring people together. In addition to my work with halfwheel, I’m the public address announcer for the Colorado Rockies and Arizona Diamondbacks during spring training, as well as for the Salt River Rafters of the Arizona Fall League, the WNBA's Phoenix Mercury and previously the Arizona Rattlers of the Indoor Football League. I also work in a number of roles for Major League Baseball, plus I'm a voice over artist. Prior to joining halfwheel, I covered the Phoenix and national cigar scene for Examiner.com, and was an editor for Cigar Snob magazine.