Could Arroyo Grande become first SLO County city to stop selling vapes? ‘It’s our duty’
The city of Arroyo Grande could be the first in San Luis Obispo County to stop selling vaping products by the end of the year.
The City Council initiated efforts to look into a potential ban on the sale of vape-related products at its meeting Sept. 24, at the request of Mayor Caren Ray Russom.
Ray Russom told The Tribune on Monday that she felt the issue was pressing for the city to address because of the growing health crisis among young adults.
“I’m on the front lines,” Ray Russom said, noting she is both a high school teacher and mother with teenage children. “I see it every day, and I can say it is horrifying.”
Vaping, tobacco use is on the rise among teens
In 2018, roughly 20 percent of high school students used e-cigarettes — also known as vapes or vape pens — according to a report by United States Surgeon General Jerome Adams. That was an increase of almost 78 percent from the previous year when only 11.7 percent of high school students reported using e-cigarettes.
In California, the minimum age to buy tobacco products is 21.
The Center for Disease Control said about one in four U.S. high school students and one in 14 middle school students had used a tobacco product in the past 30 days in a 2018 study; the CDC said the increase in tobacco use among young adults was driven largely by increased e-cigarette use.
The products, though often marketed to adults as a way to reduce the risks of traditional cigarettes, do contain nicotine and also come in what some critics say are “kid-friendly flavors” like cotton candy and “Unicorn Vomit.”
Nicotine exposure during adolescence can harm the developing brain, as well as impact learning, memory and attention, according to the Surgeon General report.
The CDC and Food and Drug Administration is also currently investigating a multi-state outbreak of lung injury associated with e-cigarette use.
The organizations say there have been 805 lung injury cases and 12 deaths reported across the country to date. All of the reported patients have a history of e-cigarette product use or vaping, according to the CDC.
Bans considered on flavors, products
In response, bans on certain vape flavors have been enacted in New York and Michigan, among other places.
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted on Tuesday to ban flavored tobacco products while also calling for a statewide ban on vaping, according to USA Today.
Others have considered banning the sale of vaping products themselves.
San Francisco enacted a ban this summer that prohibited the sale and distribution of e-cigarettes in the city.
Ray Russom said she believes an Arroyo Grande ban would likely be modeled after San Francisco’s because it ties the ban to pending Food and Drug Administration direction on e-cigarette product safety.
“I feel it’s our duty as city officials and as parents,” she said of why she first brought the issue before the council. “I can’t sit back.”
The ban is far from a done deal, however.
Ray Russom and other City Council members only directed staff to look into a potential ban at the Sept. 24 meeting.
City staff will likely bring back a report on the issue to the last meeting in October, at which point the council will decide if it wants to agendize an ordinance prohibiting the sale of vaping products. It could choose to pursue the issue, at which point the ordinance would be brought back for a first vote and then a second reading.
That could happen by the end of the year, Ray Russom said, though she emphasized it’s pending the council’s decision.
Ray Russom said she believes that Arroyo Grande could be a leader in the issue in the region.
“Some might say, ‘Why in tiny Arroyo Grande?’” she said. “I put it to the council this way: ‘Not in our house.’”
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