The Contra Costa Board of Supervisors are expected to approve a ban on the sale of vaping devices including e-cigarettes, plus the sale of menthol and other flavored cigarettes and tobacco products.
The proposed ordinance prohibits the sale or delivery of “any e-liquid or electronic smoking device,” including flavored vaping products, cannabis “e-liquid” vaping products and flavored tobacco products.
The ordinance, if passed during the Supervisors meeting today, would apply only to unincorporated parts of Contra Costa County, and not the county’s incorporated cities.
The ordinance would “address mounting concerns related to the rapid increase in use of these products by minors and the . . . epidemic of serious lung disease that has been linked to the use of vaping devices,” according to a county staff report.
The same report says that, “while there have been many successful efforts to reduce underage tobacco use, the growing availability of electronic cigarettes and flavored tobacco products has reversed positive trends in public health,” especially due to their use by minors.
The problem is there are vaping devices out there and also the troubling illegal substances to take the place of legal ones.
OH PLS BABY JESUS HELP US. NO MORE NANNY LAWS!!!!!
Really?? Don’t you think we have bigger problems then vaping?? What about opioids or other substance abuse? Why do we elect these morons and they are banning vaping for ALL people because of minors who are vaping. Idiots.
People are dying by the bushel from opioids. In most cases, they die from drugs that are illegal or illegally obtained.
Think there won’t be a vaping black market if they ban it?
Just enforce the laws that are already on the books. Punish the minors who are in possession of vaping devices and juice. Punish the adults who provide the minors the vape.
Let adults make their own decision about whether they want to vape or not.
That sounds like blatant discrimination to me. What business is it of the Board of Stupidvisors if someone of legal age wants to suck on a Personal Electronic Nicotine Inhalation System?
Hahahahaahahaha!!
Cowellian, I know you had to dumb that down for certain Claycord readers, but that would have been so much more fun without the letters in bold 😅
I am not defending vaping and if I had a teen, I would definitely teach them about the potential danger. However, this mass hysteria over vaping seems ridiculous to me. From what I’ve read, 26 teens have died from illnesses related to vaping. However 11 teens die PER DAY from texting while driving. Unfortunately many teens also die each day from accidents, suicide, drug overdoses, and violence. Why is the Nation in a panic over Juul, yet the other dangers teens face every day are basically ignored. I guess I am just too cynical lately, but I think there’s more to this. Perhaps cigarette companies are worried that vaping will take over their market and they’re bankrolling this effort….. I don’t know. But, as a mom and grandmother, I wish this much legislation and media coverage was dedicated to the other dangers our kids encounter.
Call it the “let’s get everyone back on cigarettes bill.”
And stop using the emotional argument that kids are trying it. Teens try almost everything. As a teenager I remember trying chewing tobacco and even a cheap stogie. Each of which I did only once.
The real problem is your elected officials imposing their will and beliefs on others, and that they are selective with their targets. Plenty of unhealthy stuff out there, why target vaping?
So edgy and bold, those Contra Costa Supervisors, you’ve gotta wake up pretty early to sneak anything by them.
Good – there was never enough testing with this stuff before it’s released to the public.
Now – we are only finding out some of the problems – rest assured – more will be found as research continues.
As for tobacco, booze, vaping – IMHO – Insurance Companies should be allowed to raise premiums and deductibles much higher for these folks – even with corporate provided insurance – or at least for specific types of illnesses that we know have very high correlations to these products.
“there was never enough testing with this stuff before it’s released to the public.”
If you bothered to look into the recent “epidemic” that was causing sicknesses and death across the US, you’d find that the cause was drug dealers cutting THC extract with vitamin E acetate in their bathtub brews to sell on the black market. That’s why so many very young kids were getting sick, they weren’t going to a dispensary to buy their “dank vapes”.
This ordinance looks to ban “any e-liquid or electronic smoking device,” including flavored vaping products, cannabis “e-liquid” vaping products and flavored tobacco products.”. Not only is this overly broad and targets products not even associated with the “epidemic”, this will DRIVE PEOPLE TO THE VERY BLACK MARKET PRODUCTS THAT ARE GETTING PEOPLE SICK.
Lots of good comments here, but following the money is the way to the answer. To help deter people from smoking, the master settlement agreement reached in 1998 created an opportunity for local governments to take bonds/loans in anticipation of the tobacco money that they receive from the profits. This money was supposed to go into smoking prevention. Vaping is smoking prevention and less people are smoking. Vaping has been a huge hit to the tobacco industry. Now the dollar dependent governments are not getting the money that they have already accounted for. A vote to ban vaping is a vote to return to smoking and governments are counting on that money so they will provide any support to the cigarette industry they can.
Well we all know to well
When a city council of board or politician says
They are going to consider approving
They are going to pass it
It it has to look official and not biased or paid for
There’s the “b” word again. So tired of nanny states always wanting to control the population through bans. I dont vape and am a nonsmoker, but am not a proponent of bans of legal consumer goods.
Who do you think pays for their stupidity if the don’t die?
Who pays for Randy’s stupidity?
How interesting, one who believes in rights of the individual and one who apparently believes the state should have ultimate power over actions of it’s citizens.
Wasn’t state control, tried in a place called USSR ? ? ? ?
Do believe new DA in SF said his office will not prosecute cases involving quality-of-life crimes, such as public camping, offering or soliciting sex, public urination an more . . . . .
Gosh, wonder who will end up paying for that liberal approach to quality-of-life crime ? ? ? ?
Such a dilemma . . . .
The CDC has reported vaping related injuries and deaths are attributed to black market cartridges. Vaping nicotine products for a safer way to quick traditional smoking is not the cause of any of the illnesses.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/08/health/vaping-illness-cdc.html
Why are we still allowing the sale of traditional tobacco while we all know it kills people. Banning vaping is ridiculous because it will prevent legitimate users in the vaping community from purchasing liquid from local sources. Sale of alcohol and tobacco is banned to minors and yet we still have underage drinking and smoking problems.
Public health is paid by big tobacco as long as people still die from smoking cigarettes. The U.K. has vaping shops inside hospitals to encourage people to quit traditional tobacco. Why are we so against vaping, especially since we turn a blind eye when our neighbors smoke next door or pass by a coworker that reeks of cigarettes. There is no such thing as second hand vape!
Please let them vape. I’m tired of picking up at least 5 cig. butts a day off my front lawn.
It’s incredible how the media has spun the recent illnesses to look like it is normal nicotine vaping that is causing these illnesses and death – conveniently omitting the fact that is 90% of those who became ill were vaping THC/Marijuana cartridges purchased from street vendors containing God knows what chemicals!!! Traditional inciting vaping is not the problem – so sad they are doing all of this when vaping is much less harmful than cigarette smoking….