Grand Forks targets e-cigs: New ordinance gets early approval from city committee

By Charly Haley, Grand Forks Herald
Electronic cigarettes may soon be more regulated in Grand Forks if a recommendation for a new city ordinance is approved by City Council next week.
An ordinance prohibiting possession of e-cigarettes by minors and prohibiting vending machines that sell e-cigarettes was proposed to the City Council Service/Safety Committee by council member Bret WeberTuesday. The committee voted unanimously to support the ordinance, which will go to the full City Council next week for final approval.
E-cigarettes are not technically a “tobacco product,” which is why they aren’t regulated under existing city ordinances, Weber said.
But they are a vehicle for nicotine in a vapor form, which is still damaging to health, he said.
According to Food and Drug Administration reports, e-cigarettes can increase nicotine addiction and may lead people to try regular cigarettes, which are known to cause disease.
The proposed Grand Forks ordinance states that e-cigarettes will have the same regulations as other tobacco products.
Haley Thorson, a Grand Forks Public Health nurse, said there are only two e-cigarette shops that she knows of in Grand Forks: SnG Vapor and Vapor Stars. Some convenience stores also sell simple e-cigarettes, she said.
A big part of the problem, Weber said, is that e-cigarettes are often marketed toward youths. “There are ‘Hello Kitty,’ e-cigarettes,” he said.
Members of the Red River High School Student Council and the Grand Forks City Youth Commission attended the Service/Safety Committee meeting to support Weber’s proposal of the ordinance.
E-cigarette use among youth in North Dakota has almost tripled from 2011 to 2013, according to a report provided by the Grand Forks Public Health Department. The trend is growing nationally as well, according to the report.
In Minnesota, it is illegal by state law for minors to buy e-cigarettes, Weber said. At least eight communities in North Dakota have passed or are currently discussing ordinances that regulate sales of e-cigarettes to minors, according to the Public Health report.
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