Beverly Hills City Council has an urgent matter at hand! At tonight's meeting, the council will consider an "interim urgency ordinance" that will declare a "moratorium of the establishment and further operation of any electronic cigarette retailer." Remarkably, they are giving retailers two weeks notice:
"In order to allow retailers to amortize any investment in e-cigarettes made before the adoption of the ordinance, retailers who purchased e-cigarettes for resale prior to the date of adoption of the ordinance will be able to continue to sell such cigarettes for a period of two weeks after the adoption of the ordinance. Selling e-cigarettes beyond the two weeks is a misdemeanor and is punishable by a fine not to exceed $1,000 or imprisonment for up to six months, or both."
Along with the suggested moratorium on vape shops, there is a separate agenda item that will extend all present smoking regulations to electronic cigarettes. Read the rest of the proposed ordinance here.
Proponents of e-cigarettes fear that rash, local legislation like this will set a precedent that will severly impact the industry as a whole. For all the reasons that e-cigarettes shouldn't be regulated, watch E-Cigarettes: Second-hand Smoke, Vaping, and the Price of FDA Regulations.
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