Vaping Ban Likely In Calabasas For 'Health, Safety' Of Residents

CALABASAS, CA —Next Wednesday, the Calabasas City Council will vote on whether or not to adopt an April 22 ordinance banning the sale of e-cigarettes and related items. If adopted, the ordinance would take go into effect on Nov. 23, and Calabasas would join 60 other California cities and counties that have instituted similar bans.

The April 22 ordinance amended Chapter 5.18 of the Calabasas Municipal Code, which regulates tobacco sales within the city, to prohibit the sale or public, outdoor use of e-cigarettes within city limits. The ordinance cited a requirement of the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act of 2009 that all tobacco products not on the market as of February 2007 must be reviewed by the Food and Drug Administration for safety before they can be marketed to the public.

“Virtually all electronics cigarettes that are sold today are considered ‘new tobacco products’ under the Tobacco Control Act, but unfortunately, they have not obtained a premarket review order and the FDA has not taken appropriate action to enforce the requirements of the Tobacco Control Act,” the ordinance stated.

When e-cigarettes and vaping pens were first introduced in the 2000s, they were hailed as a safe alternative to traditional cigarettes. But many recent studies have shown that because they contain nicotine, they can still harm brain development in children and young adults and lead to nicotine addiction. The Mayo Clinic also reported that children and adults have been poisoned by swallowing, breathing, or absorbing e-cigarette liquids.

In recent months, e-cigarettes have come under renewed scrutiny due to many studies that demonstrate that they weaken the lungs’ ability to fight off COVID-19 and other respiratory illnesses. The University of California-San Francisco reviewed 19 studies on the relationship between smoking and COVID disease progression, and found that that smoking was associated with a doubling of odds in disease progression in people who had contracted COVID.

Ordinance No. 2020-383 would ban “any device or delivery system that can be used to deliver nicotine or flavored tobacco products in aerosolized or vaporized form,” which includes e-cigars, e-pipes, vape pens, and e-hookahs in addition to e-cigarettes. It also bans the sale of any related paraphernalia and any liquid containing nicotine in aerosolized or vaporized form.

Still, Calabasas businesses that sell e-cigarettes are concerned about this proposal.

Shawn Younan, owner of the Tobacco Royale Calabasas smoke shop on Agoura Road, emailed the City Council on Tuesday to decry communication regarding the ban and dispute the harmfulness of e-cigarettes. Younan said that he had been in regular communication with city officials, but did not hear anything about a ban until February. He then argued that the city did not go through the appropriate steps to make him aware of the April 22 meeting when the ordinance was first introduced.

“I now feel like the City has very blatantly excluded me and my business from this meeting,” he wrote.

Michael McConville, a management analyst for the city, wrote in the same email thread that Younan was notified by email and letter about the April meeting.

Younan also argued that e-cigarettes have helped many smokers, including himself, find a safe alternative. He also argued that most of the harm reported was caused by black market products, and argued that “if you ban these products you will be opening the flood gates for black market products that are not regulated and may cause irreparable harm.”

Mayor Alicia Weintraub considers the ban a part of her duty to keep her city safe.

“My fellow councilmembers and I place the highest priority on protecting the health and safety of our residents," Weintraub told Patch in an email. "This marks another important step forward in that effort.”