By this time next month, people who “smoke” electronic cigarettes will be subject to the same restrictions as people who smoke tobacco cigarettes.

That’s because on Tuesday, the Tulare County Board of Supervisors approved an ordinance setting new rules for e-cigarettes, along with restrictions on sales that included a prohibition against selling related paraphernalia to minors.

That includes a ban against selling to minors cartridges containing a mix of chemicals put into battery-powered e-cigarettes that generates the smoke-like vapor they emit, said Dr. Karen Haught, Tulare County Public Health Officer and a member of the board’s Health Advisory Committee, which suggested the ordinance.

The committee members said that while manufacturers and vendors of e-cigarettes say it’s a healthier alternative to smoking tobacco, the electronic devices still pose health risks that include nicotine addiction and risks of cancer and birth defects from inhaling the vapors, and those risks exist for people around people “vaping” who inhale those vapors second hand.

But state and federal restrictions on where people smoke don’t apply to e-cigarettes, and while minors can’t legally buy them, they can buy “paraphernalia” related to them, including the chemical cartridges, many of which have flavoring that the Health Advisory Committee say are marketed to teens.

The Tulare County supervisors waived a second reading of the ordinance on Tuesday and voted 4-0 to approve it after a brief discussion. No members of the public spoke for or against the ordinance.

Supervisor Phil Cox wasn’t present for Tuesday’s meeting, as he was in Texas attending a conference with other members of the Tulare County Association of Governments.

Under the new rules, vaping will not be allowed anywhere that smoking tobacco is restricted, including restaurants, most enclosed places of employment, government-owned or -leased buildings — and 20 feet from the entrance of those government buildings — schools, licensed daycare businesses and buses.

Adults also cannot vape in vehicles with minors inside.

The restrictions will not be enforced at businesses with five or fewer employees — if all of them agree on a designated smoking and vaping area — warehouses that meet certain county size standards, retail tobacco stores and private smoking lounges.

The county set additional rules prohibiting the operation of vending machines for selling e-cigarettes or distributing them for free.

In most cases, these rules apply only in unincorporated parts of the county, and not in cities, though they may have their own rules on vaping and e-cigarette sales.

The rules also will apply in and around county buildings within cities.

As for when these new rules take effect, that will happen 30 days after Tuesday’s vote so long as the county follows the rules for notifying the public.

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