(A) Because the city recognizes that many persons under the age of 21 years purchase or otherwise obtain, possess and use tobacco, tobacco-related devices, electronic delivery devices and nicotine or lobelia delivery products, and the sales, possession and use are violations of both state and federal laws; and because studies, which the city hereby accepts and adopts, have shown that most smokers begin smoking before they have reached the age of 21 years and that those persons who reach the age of 18 years without having started smoking are significantly less likely to begin smoking; and because tobacco use has been shown to be the cause of several serious health problems which subsequently place a financial burden on all levels of government; this chapter shall be intended to regulate the sale, possession and use of tobacco, tobacco-related devices, electronic delivery devices and nicotine or lobelia delivery products for the purpose of enforcing and furthering existing laws, to protect minors against the serious effects associated with the illegal use of tobacco, tobacco-related devices, electronic delivery devices and nicotine or lobelia delivery products, and to further the official public policy of the state in regard to preventing young people from starting to smoke as stated in M.S. § 144.391, as it may be amended from time to time.
(B) Unregulated electronic delivery devices, commonly referred to as electronic cigarettes, or e-cigarettes, closely resemble and purposefully mimic the act of smoking by having users inhale vaporized liquid nicotine or other substances created by heat through an electronic ignition system. After testing a number of e-cigarettes from two leading manufacturers, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) determined that various samples tested contained not only nicotine, but also detectable levels of known carcinogens and toxic chemicals, including tobacco-specific nitrosamines and diethylene glycol, a toxic chemical used in antifreeze. The FDA’s testing also suggested that quality control processes used to manufacture these products are inconsistent or non-existent. (“Summary of results: Laboratory analysis of electronic cigarettes conducted by FDA, “Food and Drug Administration (FDA), 7-22-2009. E-cigarettes produce a vapor of undetermined and potentially harmful substances, which may appear similar to smoke emitted by traditional tobacco products. Their use in workplaces and public places where smoking of traditional tobacco products is prohibited creates concern and confusion and leads to difficulties in enforcing the smoking prohibitions.”)
(C) In making these findings, the City Council accepts the conclusions and recommendations of Centers for Disease Control in its study Selected Cigarette Smoking Initiation and Quitting Behaviors Among High School Students, United States, 1997, and of the following medical professionals in these medical journals: Khuder SA, et al., Age at Smoking Onset and its Effect on Smoking Cessation, Addictive Behavior 24(5):673-7, September-October 1999; D’Avanzo B, et al., Age at Starting Smoking and Number of Cigarettes Smoked, Annals of Epidemiology 4(6):455-59, November 1994; Chen, J & Millar, WJ, Age of Smoking Initiation: Implications for Quitting, Health Reports 9(4):39-46, Spring 1998; Everett SA, et al., Initiation of Cigarette Smoking and Subsequent Smoking Behavior Among U.S. High School Students, Preventive Medicine, 29(5):327-33, November 1999, copies of which are adopted by reference.
(2002 Code, § 4.14) (Ord. 75, Fourth Series, effective 7-1-1995; Ord. 90, Sixth Series, effective 3-12-2009; Ord. 41, Seventh Series, effective 5-9-2016; Ord. 91, Seventh Series, passed 9-16-2019)