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U.S. NEWS Wednesday 20 March 2019
San Francisco floats ban on e-cigarettes pending U.S. review

posed guidelines last week arettes in the past 30 days, Juul Labs, an electronic
moving up the deadline to including nearly 5 percent cigarette company that
August 2021 and restricting of middle school students rents space on Pier 70.
sales of most flavored prod- and nearly 21 percent of “We don’t want them in
ucts to stores that verify the high school students, the our city,” Walton said.
age of customers upon en- Centers for Disease Control A spokesman for Juul said
try or that use a separate, and Prevention reported. the proposed legislation
age-restricted area for Walton also introduced would limit adult smok-
vaping products. legislation that bars mak- ers’ abilities to access e-
In 2018, more than 3.6 mil- ing, selling or distributing cigarettes that could help
lion U.S. middle and high tobacco on city property. them kick regular smoking
school students used e-cig- That proposal is aimed at habits.q

In this April 11, 2018, file photo, a high school student uses a
vaping device near a school campus in Cambridge, Mass.
Associated Press

By JANIE HAR first such prohibition in the
Associated Press country. Its chances are
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — not clear.
San Francisco is trying to “We have people addict-
crack down on electronic ed to nicotine who would
cigarettes that critics say have never smoked a
aggressively target kids, cigarette had it not been
with an official on Tuesday for the attractive products
proposed what’s believed that target our young peo-
to be the first U.S. ban on ple,” said Walton, a former
their sale until the federal president of the San Fran-
government regulates cisco Board of Education.
vaping products. Anti-tobacco activists say
City Attorney Dennis Herre- e-cigarette makers target
ra said San Francisco, Chi- kids by offering products
cago and New York sent a in candy flavors and using
joint letter demanding that marketing that portrays
the U.S. Food and Drug Ad- their products as flashy
ministration evaluate the gadgets.
effect of e-cigarettes on San Francisco was the first
public health. city in the United States to
Herrera said the review approve an outright ban
should have been done on the sale of flavored to-
before e-cigarettes en- bacco and flavored vap-
tered the market. The FDA ing liquids, which voters up-
released proposed guide- held in 2018. The city pro-
lines last week giving com- hibits smoking in parks and
panies until 2021 to submit public squares and doesn’t
applications for the evalu- allow smokeless tobacco
ation. at its playing fields.
“The result is that millions of The city has often been
children are already ad- on the forefront in passing
dicted to e-cigarettes and liberal social policies that
millions more will follow clash with business inter-
if we don’t act,” he said ests, whether it’s banning
Tuesday. single-use plastic bags or
Most e-cigarettes contain the sale of fur products.
nicotine, which is addictive The FDA declined immedi-
and can harm adolescent ate comment on the letter
brains that are still develop- from the three cities.
ing. In the U.S., youth are Manufacturers were sup-
more likely than adults to posed to submit most prod-
use e-cigarettes. ucts for review by August
San Francisco Supervisor 2018, but FDA Commis-
Shamann Walton intro- sioner Scott Gottlieb in 2017
duced legislation banning delayed the deadline until
the sale of e-cigarettes in 2022. He said at the time
the city unless they get an that both the agency and
FDA review. Supporters say the industry needed more
that if the measure is ap- time to prepare.
proved, it would be the The agency unveiled pro-