The new law puts electronic smoking devices in the same category as tobacco products, subjecting their sales to the same restrictions. It bans sales from street kiosks, ice cream trucks and self-service displays, and requires retailers to obtain a license before selling the products.
Parallel legislation under city consideration would ban the use of e-cigarettes in the same places that tobacco is prohibited, including restaurants and parks. Sales of e-cigarettes to minors are already banned under state law, and 59 California counties and cities, including Glendale and Burbank, require a license to sell e-cigarettes.
"It's important to protect young people from this deadly habit and to protect people from second-hand smoke," said Councilman Paul Koretz, who pushed the ordinance.
The battery-operated devices look like cigarettes and use heat to vaporize a liquid, some containing nicotine and fruit and candy flavorings. Users inhale the vapors and expel them, much the same as smoking tobacco.
Retail sales of the devices are expected to double this year to $1.7 billion, and e-cigarettes could outsell their tobacco counterparts within a decade, Dr. Jonathan Fielding, Los Angeles County's health director, said in a morning press conference. Use of vaping devices among high school students doubled in 2012 to 10%, according to a recent study by the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Though studies on the health impacts of vaping have been inconclusive, some of the devices contain harmful substances such as formaldehyde, chromium and lead, Fielding said.
Council members said it was better to err on the side of caution and take action. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration does not regulate the devices.
