Proposed Smoking Ordinance Amendments For Addition Of Electronic Smoking Devices Waco City Council March 17, 2015 Sherry Williams, APRN Director Waco-McLennan County Public Health District
Purpose • January 20, 2015, the Waco City Council requested a review of the current smoking ordinance for proposed changes addressing: -Regulation of electronic smoking devices in the same manner as tobacco products -Regulation of sale, possession, and use of electronic smoking devices by minors
Purpose - Increasing the distance requirement for smoking outside of buildings -Recommend to the Public Health District Board to consider a 100% Smoke-Free Model Ordinance
Implementation Plan • The ordinance on today’s agenda addresses regulating electronic smoking devices in the same manner as tobacco products. • The remaining proposed changes will be addressed in the Public Health District’s Recommended Model Ordinance currently planned to be presented to council in June 2015 after the potential for action by the Texas Legislature will be clearer.
Proposed Amendments • Consider an ordinance amending Article IV, Smoking Regulations, in Chapter 16 of the Waco Code of Ordinances, to add Section 16-120 to provide definitions; and • To amend Section16-121 so that electronic smoking devices will be treated in the same manner as tobacco products under the City ordinance.
Article IV, Section 16-120 Definitions • “Electronic Smoking Device” shall mean an electronic or battery operated device that delivers vapors for inhalation. This term shall include every variation and type of such devices whether they are manufactured, distributed, marketed or sold as an electronic cigarette, an electronic cigar, an electronic cigarillo, an electronic pipe, an electronic hookah or any other product name or descriptor.
Definitions • ‘Smoke” shall mean the gases, particles or vapors released into the air as a result of combustion, electrical ignition or vaporization, including from an electronic smoking device, when the purpose of the combustion, electrical ignition or vaporization is human inhalation of the gases, particles or vapors.
Definitions • Smoke does not mean the combustion of material solely for olfactory purposes that does not contain any tobacco or nicotine. • “Smoking and smokes” shall mean engaging in an act that generates smoke, such as possessing a lighted pipe, a lighted hookah pipe, a lighted cigar, a lighted cigarette, or an operating electronic smoking device.
Article IV, Section 16-121 Language Change • Article IV, Section 16-121 will be amended to remove unnecessary language and incorporate regulation of the use of electronic cigarettes by using the new definition of “smoke” as set forth in Section 16-120.
Language Change • The first sentence of Section 16-121 will read as amended as follows: A person commits an offense in violation of this article if he/she smokes or possess a burning tobacco, weed or other plant product in any of the following indoor and /or enclosed areas… The remainder of the ordinance is unchanged.
Proposed State and Federal Legislation Aside from these ordinance changes and similar efforts by other local governmental entities, Texas and United States legislatures are also addressing the subject of vapor products.
84th Texas Legislative Session Proposed Bills- Referred to Committee: • HB170 & 646-Relating to regulation of vapor products in terms of sales, use, and penalties • SB87-Relating to the elimination of smoking in certain workplaces and public places • HB456 -Relating to prohibition on use and possession of vapor products on school property
114th U.S. Congress S.142-Child Nicotine Poisoning Prevention Act • Introduced in Senate-Directs the Consumer Product Safety Commission to promulgate a rule requiring liquid nicotine containers to be designed with special packaging that is difficult for children under five years of age to open or to obtain harmful contents. Requires the rule to be treated as a standard, applicable to a household substance under the Poison Prevention Packaging Act of 1970.
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