Up in smoke: San Francisco becomes first US city to ban sales of e-cigarettes
San Francisco is set to impose a blanket ban on e-cigarettes sales, becoming the first major US city to clamp down on the increasingly popular vaping alternative to smoking.
A board of supervisors voted unanimously last night to ban the sale of distributions of e-cigarettes in the Californian city, which is home to some of the country’s biggest vaping producers.
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Bricks-and-mortar shops will no longer be able to sell the vaporisers, while online retailers will also be prevented from delivering products to addresses in the Goldan Gate city.
“This is a decisive step to help prevent another generation of San Francisco children from becoming addicted to nicotine,” said City attorney Dennis Herrar, who co-authored the ordinance.
Among the city’s manufacturers is Juul Labs, the most popular e-cigarette maker in the country.
In response to the ban, Juul spokesman Ted Kwong said the move would “drive former adult smokers who successfully switched to vapor products back to deadly cigarettes”.
Such a ban, which is expected to be signed off by the major in the net 10 days, would be enforced in early 2020.
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Last month the US Food and Drug Administration outlined new e-cigarette rules which includes more restrictions on fruit-flavoured products, as it comes under growing pressure to curb its growing use among teenagers.