The San Francisco city council voted Tuesday to ban e-cigarettes, making it the first major city to do so, according to the Associated Press.
The ban was an attempt to curb underage use of e-cigarettes.
“The dramatic surge in youth e-cigarette use (‘vaping’) is no accident. E-cigarettes are frequently marketed in a variety of flavors with obvious appeal to youth, such as gummy bear, cotton candy, and fruit punch,” the ordinance reads.
“The widespread use of e-cigarettes by youth has significant public health consequences. As stated by the Surgeon General, “Most e-cigarettes contain nicotine — the addictive drug in regular cigarettes, cigars, and other tobacco products. Nicotine exposure during adolescence can harm the developing brain — which continues to develop until about age 25,” the ordinance continues.
E-cigarette maker JUUL, which is based in San Francisco, has stated they are against underage use of their products.
“This full prohibition will drive former adult smokers who successfully switched to vapor products back to deadly cigarettes, deny the opportunity to switch for current adult smokers, and create a thriving black market instead of addressing the actual causes of underage access and use,” JUUL said in a statement. “We have already taken the most aggressive actions in the industry to keep our products out of the hands of those underage and are taking steps to do more.”
“We will continue to work with local policymakers, small businesses, community leaders and adult smokers who have switched to vapor products to enact stronger regulation and enforcement rather than complete prohibition, because this will primarily drive adult smokers back to cigarettes, which remain untouched by this legislation, even though they kill 40,000 Californians every year,” the company added.
