E-cigarette worries

Minot ordinance would keep e-cigarettes from kids

JILL SCHRAMM (jschramm@ minotdailynews.com), Minot Daily News
Electronic cigarettes should be treated like tobacco when it comes to minors, Minot’s STAMP Coalition told a city committee Wednesday.
The Minot City Council’s Public Works and Safety Committee voted at the coalition’s urging to recommend the council make it illegal to sell or provide e-cigarettes to minors and for minors to possess the devices.
E-cigarettes are designed like a cigarette but are battery powered with a vaporizer and mouthpiece to deliver nicotine.
They don’t fall under the definition of tobacco so there is no legal requirement for stores to restrict sales to minors. Many stores are checking identification and restricting on their own, but there is no penalty if a store fails to do so.
Some legislators are considering changing state law to bring e-cigarettes under the same rules as conventional cigarettes.
“We are absolutely going to be working toward that and hoping for that during the next session,” said Erin Oban-Hill, executive director for Tobacco Free North Dakota, in Bismarck. In the meantime, she said, “A number of communities didn’t want to wait.”
To continue reading, visit http://www.minotdailynews.com/page/content.detail/id/592629/E-cigarette-worries.html?nav=5010