Published: 6/6/2017 11:38:43 PM
ORANGE — Updated tobacco regulations aimed to deter young people from obtaining the drug are set to take effect Aug. 1.
The Board of Health voted unanimously Tuesday to adopt new restrictions for making it more challenging to obtain tobacco products and nicotine-delivery devices like vape pens.
These restrictions include a ban on the sale of flavored inhalant products, except for inside smoking bars and adult-only retail tobacco stores. The vote comes after more than a year of debate on the issue.
BOH member Patricia Pierson said the vote was “a positive step in the right direction” for area children “and our community in general.” Member Jane Peirce agreed.
A new regulation requires any owner or other person in charge of a place that sells tobacco products to post signs provided by the Orange Board of Health that states referral information about how to quit smoking.
Other changes include the introduction of language citing evidence regarding the harm tobacco use can do to young people. According to one statement, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has concluded that nicotine is as addictive as cocaine or heroin and the Surgeon General found that nicotine exposure during adolescence — a crucial period for brain development — can have long-lasting adverse consequences.
Another statement says more than 80 percent of all adult smokers begin smoking before the age of 18, more than 90 percent do so before they are 20 years old and more than 3.5 million middle and high school students smoke. Another statement claims 5.8 percent of the state’s young people use e-cigarettes and 15.9 percent have tried them.
A flavored tobacco product is defined as “any tobacco product or component part thereof that contains a constituent that has or produces a characterizing flavor.”
You can reach Domenic Poli at: dpoli@recorder.com
or 413-772-0261, ext. 258.
On Twitter: @DomenicPoli