Vape Sale Ban Passed By Dublin Council

DUBLIN, CA — The Dublin City Council voted unanimously last week to ban sales of vapes and flavored tobacco products, amid a spike in youth tobacco use. The ban would be enforced in July.

Vape critics say sellers lack sufficient research to market products as being safer than smoking, and vapes and flavored vape juices were designed and market to appeal to youth, though JUUL, America's best-selling vape company, has denied this.

Vape use among local youth is so prominent that a Dublin High School student told the council at its Jan. 14 meeting that her school has a particular bathroom used as a vaping spot. Councilmember Jean Josey, who works for Dublin Unified School District and has a daughter who got hooked on nicotine through vaping, said that day that taking vapes from students is like "whack-a-mole."

Livermore, Richmond and San Francisco County have already passed vape bans, but those bans allow the sale of unflavored, U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved vape devices. Dublin's proposal bans sales of all vape devices.

The Danville Town Council is also considering a ban on vape sales.

Councilmember Shawn Kumagai said during the Jan. 14 meeting that he would eventually like the council to explore requiring retailers to card patrons at the door to ensure they are at least 21 years old, if the store's inventory is comprised of 75 percent tobacco products. Three of some 30 local retailers would be affected, he said.

"The message from the community is crystal clear, the message from science and experts is crystal clear," Kumagai said last month.

There was no further discussion on the ban at the council's Feb. 4 meeting.

More Tri-Valley news:

• Danville Council introduces vape sale ban
• Family of teen drowned in PE gets $8M settlement

• Livermore local kills man, leads pursuit to Dublin, police say