City to crack down on youth vaping and tobacco alternative sales and possession

 

[February 28, 2019] 

LINCOLN 

At the Tuesday night meeting of the Lincoln City Council, Lincoln’s School Resource Officer Tim Butterfield addressed the council regarding vaping and other alternative tobacco products being used by minors.

Butterfield began by telling the aldermen that vaping is becoming a big problem at the Lincoln Community High School. He said that in the month of August there were 27 incidents of vaping violations among the students. He said that one-third of those violations included students actively vaping in the classroom, school hallways and restrooms.

Butterfield said a big concern of the school is that these tools, which are regarded by students as well as their parents, as less harmful than cigarettes have the ability to utilize cannabis oils. In addition, the chemical compounds in the items often referred to as E-cigarettes is also harmful to the body. Butterfield said the products are relatively new compared to cigarettes, so the research is not as conclusive, but he personally is convinced that eventually it will be determined that these products are just as harmful to the health as regular tobacco products.

Butterfield said that the new Juul product is gaining popularity among teens. He said the Juul is small, easy to conceal, and easy to use. In addition advertising of the product is making it an attractive item for youth.

Butterfield said he was asking the city to pass new and revised ordinances concerning the sale of tobacco alternatives and also the possession. He said that he wanted to impose fines for possession of the products by minors. Butterfield said that there are currently disciplinary actions taken by the school, but he feels that a city ordinance with fines attached that will hit students in their wallets could be more effective.

Butterfield also wants the city to address the sale of the items and the way they are displayed in local retails shops. He said that there are laws pertaining to the display and sale of cigarettes and he would like to see tighter restraints on the vaping products as well.

Butterfield went on to say that the high school and the Logan County Department of Public Health are implementing educational programs through the “Catch your breath” campaign. However, he said that while education is good, he feels fines will have a greater impact. He noted that currently when students are caught in violation with the vaping tools they are required to participate in an education program, but still, that is not enough to deter the usage.

Butterfield also noted that the state had passed vaping laws this past year, but he felt that what he was asking the city to pass would add more bite than the state laws.

Butterfield ended saying that there is no specific demographic for vaping. He said there doesn’t appear to be one economic class that predominantly uses the vaping tools. He also noted that about 50 percent of the student population at LCHS is actively vaping.

Butterfield was asked how the students were getting the materials. He said that in some cases the tools and the refills are being purchased for the students by their parents. He said that parents and students have the impression that the tobacco alternatives are harmless, which is not true. Again he said there needed to be more education.

In other cases, he said the minors are purchasing the items themselves. He said again, they are easy to get at local retailers.

City Attorney John Hoblit said he had reviewed the request for changes to the existing ordinances and noted that the changes were far more reaching than just the e-cigarettes, including items such as chewing tobacco, smokeless tobacco and other inhalants. Butterfield said, yes, the outline was drawn up to be all encompassing.

Hoblit said it appeared that the changes were meant to address not only the current situation but whatever could come in the future. Butterfield said, yes, that was the goal.

Hoblit asked a number of other questions about the ordinance, noting in particular that the ordinance was written so that anyone under legal age would have to present proof of age at the point of purchase. He wanted to verify the new ordinances were not going to be written specifically for school age children.

Butterfield said that was correct. The vaping and tobacco alternative laws would coincide with tobacco laws where age was concerned.

Hoblit said he believed he had sufficient information to draft the ordinance if that was the desire of the council.

The council instructed Hoblit to move forward with preparing the draft.

The draft will then be presented to the aldermen at the March 11th Committee of the Whole for review. If approved the ordinance would then go up for an official vote March 18th and could take effect immediately.

[Nila Smith]