Deerfield trustees support regulating electronic cigarettes like other tobacco products.
On Monday night, the village board considered the “first reading” of the new village law, which notes that e-cigarettes “remain unregulated at the federal level, leaving states and local governments to adopt their own regulation regarding the smoking of e-cigarettes in public places and work places,” as well as the sale of and distribution of the product to minors, according to the ordinance.
The new ordinance will prohibit the sale of e-cigarettes to minors and ban the use of e-cigarettes in places where smoking is not allowed.
“Part of the conversation is (e-cigarettes) haven’t been studied long enough and the full implications are still unknown,” said Andrew Lichterman, assistant to the village manager.
Deerfield police officials have said in past meetings that e-cigarettes are sometimes used by teens to smoke marijuana in its liquid form.
With its ordinance, Deerfield will be joining Wilmette, Oak Park and Arlington Heights, which have also recently passed new regulations. Chicago has also passed an ordinance banning e-cigarettes from restaurants, bars and most indoor public places.
