Santa Clara County Supervisors Vote To Ban E-Cigarette Sales
SANTA CLARA COUNTY (CBS SF) -- The Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday voted to ban the sale of e-cigarettes in the unincorporated part of the county.
Supervisors on Oct. 18, 2016, passed a ban on the sale of tobacco products to people under 21 years old, which included a ban on flavored tobacco products.
On Sept. 24, the board decided to propose at a later time a new ban on the sale of e-cigarettes, otherwise known as vaporizers or vapes, in the unincorporated area of the county. That ban passed unanimously on Tuesday.
The ban affects sales permits for tobacco retailers. The permits will be subject to the new provisions either when the current permit expires or by July 1, 2020.
Retailers, which now includes "adult stores" that previously were exempt from the ban, face a possible 30-day permit suspension for violating the ban in any five-year period.
Retailers who violate the ban a second time in a 60-month period face up to a 90-day permit suspension. Each additional violation in a five-year period could prompt a yearlong suspension of the permit.
The county cited 33 deaths and nearly 1,500 "cases of acute lung injury" reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as of Oct. 15 this year as grounds for the ban. The county hopes banning sales will curb youth nicotine addiction, illness and death.
The county's ban was approved the same day the city of San Francisco voted to keep its own e-cigarette ban in effect when residents voted down Proposition C, which was aimed at repealing the prohibition passed earlier in the year.
San Francisco voters Tuesday also rejected the idea of placing Proposition C on the upcoming 2020 election ballot.
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