Piscataway passes ordinance nearly eliminating vape sales in township

PISCATAWAY – The township has banned the sale of vaping products in most of the township.

Businesses have until the end of the month to comply with the ordinance or face a $250 penalty for a first offense, $500 for a second offense and a $1,000 fine for ever subsequent offense, Mayor Brian C. Wahler said.

There are a significant number of businesses in the township that sell these products, typically convenience stores and grocery stores, Wahler said. The ban impacts about 90 percent of the township, he added.

"We are in the process of notifying the businesses to make sure that they are well aware of the new ordinance,” he said.

The ban prohibits the sale of vaping products/electronic cigarettes within 500 meters of schools, including institutions of higher education and nursery schools; funeral homes; health services facilities; assisted living facilities; churches or other places of worship, and parks, playgrounds and commercial recreational facilities.

The ordinance was passed by the township council in November and signed by the mayor in December.

As of Dec. 27, 2019, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) reported that 2,561 cases of hospitalized e-cigarette, or vaping, product use-associated lung injury (EVALI) or deaths have been reported to CDC from 50 states, the District of Columbia, and two U.S. territories (Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands). Fifty-five deaths have been confirmed in 27 states and the District of Columbia as of Dec. 27, 2019, according to the CDC.

In New Jersey, there have been 53 confirmed and 46 probable cases of vaping-related illness and one death, according to the state Department of Health.

During an event held Monday at town hall, Wahler, joined by health experts, said there is a growing public health epidemic in the country with vaping.

"What we're seeing now is a lot of youth out there thinking it's okay to vape – that it's the cool thing to do," Wahler said. "Unfortunately, since there is no public law right now in the country and or the state that bans vaping, this is a unique way to minimize the impact upon our youth within our community."

The township takes great pride in taking care of youth within the community, he said.

Wahler said the issue is "very dear to me."

"I had an older brother who passed away from cigarette smoking," he said.

Wahler said the ban has not been well received by lobbyists and private sector businesses that sell vaping products in the township.

"This is a unique way on how to try to minimize a growing problem within the confines of the laws of the state and with the zoning and land use powers of a local municipality," he said.

Associate Professor Kevin Schroth, with the Rutgers School of Public Health, said the ordinance is a "sweeping retail density restriction on the sale of electronic cigarette products that will prohibit the sale of electronic cigarettes in most of Piscataway."

Schroth, who previously served as Senior Legal Counsel at the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene directed tobacco control policy for the city, said that over the past several years electronic cigarette use among high school students has surged to unprecedented, epidemic levels.

While some adults say e-cigarettes helped them to stop smoking combustible cigarettes, 27 percent of high school students nationwide use them regularly compared to about 3 percent of adults, he said.

More than 5 million high school and middle school kids in the United States use e-cigarettes regularly – a number that doubled over the last two years, Schroth said. E-cigarettes contain nicotine, which is a highly addictive drug, he said.

Schroth said the Food and Drug Administration has taken some action, but more needs to be done.

"As council members, you are fulfilling your duty to protect the health of your constituents in a manner that is within your control," he said. "You should be commended for that."

He said new FDA regulations encourage technology that blocks underage online purchases.

He also said if a person has to drive an additional distance to make a purchase they may not make that trip, or they may do it less often.

Township resident Dr. Karen W. Lin, professor and assistant dean of Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and medical advisor for the Piscataway Health Advisory Commission, also spoke about the surge in e-cigarette use by middle and high schoolers.

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"As a family doctor, not only is it our duty to take care of a patient, we have the obligation to help the community," she said.

Middlesex County Health Services Director Lester Jones applauded the township for its efforts.

He said various resources are available for additional information on vaping and smoking.

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The Partnership for a Drug-Free New Jersey (PDFNJ), in collaboration with the New Jersey Office of the Attorney General, recently unveiled a media campaign about the dangers of vaping that will be distributed to each of the more than 3,500 schools in the state, according to a release. The campaign, which emphasizes the risks associated with vaping by comparing e-cigarette use to skydiving without a parachute, also will appear on billboards, trains and buses throughout the state.

The messages include a pathway to gather additional information at VapeFactsNJ.com, the New Jersey Department of Health’s website on e-cigarettes and vaping.

For additional information visit bit.ly/2QVtEa1.

Information about lung injuries and e-cigarette and vaping resources is available at www.middlesexcountynj.gov.

Susan Loyer covers Middlesex County and more for the USA TODAY NETWORK New Jersey. Contact her at 732-565-7243 or sloyer@gannettnj.com.