You can’t buy cigarettes if you’re not 21.
(Mirror Daily, United States) – In Portland buying tobacco products is already forbidden if you are not 21 years old. A notice has also been posted so that every customer will be informed about the prohibition.
The City Council approved this initiative in June making Portland the first Maine city that banned the sales of all tobacco products to people younger than 21. Over 100 other cities throughout the United States have adopted the same perspective including Chicago, New York City, and Boston as well.
In Hawaii and California, this project has already become a state law. After Portland has raised the age to buy tobacco products, other Maine cities are taking into consideration this new approach to smoking. The municipal government of Bangor intends to ban smoking in city parks after Portland did the same thing back in 2006.
These new regulations from Portland also apply to electronic cigarette devices that can also contain nicotine. Any retailer who sells tobacco to teenagers under 21 years old will receive a fine between $50 and $500.
However, the legal smoking age in Maine is still 18. Coquitlam City has decided to adopt new regulations about banning e-cigarettes in public spaces meaning that these electronic devices will no longer be allowed in places of employment, restaurant patios, customer service areas, places of public assembly, parks, and transit shelters.
Another provincial law will become active from September as e-cigarettes will be forbidden in workplaces, public vehicles, and public buildings. These regulations will include open windows, air intakes, and doorways where smoking is already banned.
E-cigarette display of vapor products will also be restricted just like tobacco products to discourage people from purchasing them. In other words, e-cigarettes and all vapor products will be regarded as dangerous as tobacco products so that the same restrictions will be applied in both cases.
Scientists stated that e-cigarettes have to be further investigated to establish what are their risks because the vaporizing liquids might contain other dangerous ingredients even if some of these devices are nicotine-free.
These new regulations will also apply to operators and owners of vehicles, strata common areas, customer service areas, and buildings. They will have to attach ‘no smoking’ signs to inform everyone that smoking is prohibited in the vicinity.
Smoking is the leading cause of preventable deaths throughout the United States and scientists discovered that the vaping trend encourages teenagers to start using e-devices that will eventually lead these adolescents into the habit of smoking.
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