Tobacco Retail Shops in Chicago Heights

Throughout communities like Chicago Heights there has been a rise of tobacco retail shops. Tobacco retail stores like Blue Smokes and Tornado Smokes are being seen more often in our communities, but what does this mean for us and other towns like Chicago Heights?

It has been studied that towns that are heavily populated with lower median household income and minorities, specifically African Americans and Latinx/Hispanics are correlated with the high amounts of tobacco retail shops in the area, in more detail up to four tobacco retail shops that are prominent in the area. Chicago Heights’ community is full of diversity, but also has at least four dedicated tobacco-related shops which can be seen in Google Maps. 

Currently tobacco retail shops are being associated with nuisance properties. What are nuisance properties? These are properties that can make one feel uncomfortable to be around due to criminal activity or a bad reputation. Some examples are: liquor stores, motels, and corner stores. This will stain Chicago Heights image as a community besides other contributing factors. 

But what do the students at Prairie State College think about the rise in tobacco retail shops in Chicago Heights? I briefly interviewed five random students in the PSC atrium and asked their opinions on the rise of tobacco retail shops in the area.

Lukas Picht comments, “It’s not a good look for the community if there are too many of them, it is going to normalize smoking especially towards young people. It will create the idea that it is okay to smoke because those who live in areas with a lot of these shops see them so often.” Rapheal Robinson chimes in with, “It’s not right. There should be laws against the amounts of these shops in an area.”

I asked students about their thoughts on studies that reveal how areas that are mainly inhabited by minorities and low income residents have higher rates of tobacco retail shops in their community. Marcos Serrano responds to this with, “It is easier to bait, to sell to a group of people that only know drugs.” Ademide Alli responded, “I would not be surprised, I mean it is smart, the industry knows a lot of minorities like those types of products. People have to make their money and tobacco related products bring addictions, which gives them a paycheck”. 

What does this mean for us? Everyone I interviewed at the PSC atrium showed a concern for the youth. But how can we stop these shops from appearing so often in our community?