Vaping Businesses Banned In Bernardsville In Town-Wide Crackdown

BERNARDSVILLE, NJ — Officials are trying to make vaping go up in smoke in the borough.

The Borough Council adopted two ordinances Oct. 15 regulating the sale of vaping products and is considering adopting a third that would ban such products from being used on borough-owned property.

One ordinance banned vape shops from the borough. The ordinance states that "it is in the best interest of the borough and the health of its residents to ban vape shops" in all zoning districts.

That legislation states that vaping devices "pose a significant health risk, especially to youth and young adults." It also cited statistics from the U.S. Food & Drug Administration that more than 3.6 million middle and high school students used vaping devices in 2018.

The second ordinance requires local businesses that sell vaping products to be licensed by the borough to ensure that they are only sold to people who are 21 and older. Vaping products including e-cigarettes, and their parts and liquid nicotine.

Licenses from the borough cost $250. They must be posted in a "conspicuous location" in a business. The borough will use license fees to fund substances abuse prevention programs.

The council introduced an ordinance Monday that would ban vaping on borough-owned property, including municipal buildings, parks, playgrounds, recreation areas, and vehicles.

Smoking cigarettes and similar products is prohibited at such places. Vaping, like smoking, the ordinance states, "constitutes a health hazard."

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that, as of Tuesday, there were 1,888 cases of vaping-related lung injuries in the United States and 37 deaths in 24 states.

Of the 1,364 patients the CDC has age information about, 14 percent are younger than 14 and 40 percent are between 18 and 24.

For more information about the vaping-related injuries outbreak, what the CDC recommends regarding vaping, and smoking and tobacco use, click here.

What do you think about what Bernardsville officials are doing to limit vaping in the borough? Leave a comment below or visit the Neighbor Posts section of Bernardsvile-Bedminster Patch.

Email: daniel.hubbard@patch.com