EVANSTON, Ill. (WLS) — Starting Monday, flavored tobacco products will no longer be available for purchase in Evanston.

Flavored tobacco, vape pens and rolling papers will be prohibited. This is the first ordinance of its kind in Illinois.

Some store owners worry that the ban will affect their profits.

Several shelves that once held flavored tobacco products at Asif Mehmood’s Evanston Gas Foods store are now empty.

The products that were once there will no longer be allowed to be sold in the City of Evanston.

“It took 25 years to build this business, but they destroyed it with the stroke of a pen,” Mehmood said.

Last year, the city of Evanston passed an ordinance banning the sale of all flavored tobacco products, including menthol cigarettes, starting April 1, 2024.

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For Mehmood, these products accounted for 70 to 80 percent of cigarette sales.

“We expect a direct and indirect impact on sales of at least 50%,” Mehmood said.

He said the loss of sales of flavored tobacco products could lead to additional sales of food and gasoline. His store and gas station at Ridge and Howard is located on the border of Evanston and Chicago.

“And the problem is across the street, in other suburbs, where there is no ban,” Mehmood said. “So people can just walk across the street.”

Evanston’s ban was enacted and passed last November as part of strong health measures to discourage tobacco use, given the wide range of health risks.

“Tobacco use is the number one preventable cause of death for African Americans, is the leading cause of heart disease, cancer, and stroke, and menthol cigarettes are the leading cause of death among black Americans every year. It is the leading cause of the loss of 45,000 Black lives,” American Lung Association Illinois Advocacy Director Christina Hamilton told the council in November.

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More supporters of the ban spoke at the November City Council meeting when the ordinance was passed.

“Evanston has continued to lead the way in the state, first by reducing or eliminating sales to people under 21 with Tobacco 21, and now we have another chance,” Lauren Peters of the American Heart Association said at the time. Told. “Let’s show Chicago-Cook County and the surrounding region that Evanston continues to put the health of our residents first.”

Mehmood said she supports Evanston’s cause but is still worried about how she will make ends meet.

“You know, the value of my business has gone down, so I’m thinking of retiring,” he said. “I’m 67 years old and I was thinking of retiring, making some money and getting out, but now I don’t know what’s going to happen.”

Retailers who violate the new ordinance face fines ranging from $500 to $2,500 and risk having their tobacco sales license revoked if they commit multiple violations.