Ordinance 2014-428 - Laserfiche WebLink

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ORDINANCE NO. 2014 -428 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF SUNNY ISLES BEACH, FLORIDA, CREATING CHAPTER 99 OF THE CODE OF ORDINANCES OF THE CITY OF SUNNY ISLES BEACH ENTITLED "PUBLIC HEALTH AND SAFETY", INCLUDING ARTICLE I, ENTITLED "E-CIGARETTES", TO PROHIBIT THE SALE, GIFTING OR FURNISHING OF E-CIGARETTES AND LIQUID NICOTINE TO PERSONS UNDER THE AGE OF EIGHTEEN (18); PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY; PROVIDING FOR INCLUSION IN THE CODE; PROVIDING FOR REPEAL OF CONFLICTING PROVISIONS; AND PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE. WHEREAS, the primary purpose of the Code of Ordinances of the City of Sunny Isles Beach(the "City") is to protect the health, safety and welfare of residents and visitors alike of the City; and WHEREAS, the City Commission finds that the health dangers posed by tobacco and nicotine are not limited to merely cigarettes or other traditional forms of smoking; and WHEREAS, new, unregulated high-tech nicotine vaporizers, sometimes referred to as electronic cigarettes or"e-cigarettes", have recently been made available to consumers, including young people under the age of eighteen (18) years of age, allowing users to inhale vaporized liquid nicotine created by heat through an electronic ignition system, and the vapors are expelled via a cartridge that usually contains a concentration of pure nicotine; and WHEREAS, e-cigarette manufacturers offer their nicotine cartridges in a variety of flavors that appeal to adolescents, including cherry, chocolate and vanilla. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration ("FDA") and public health advocates warn these flavorings are purposely meant to appeal to and attract adolescents and are commonly referred to as "training wheels" for traditional cigarettes; and WHEREAS, studies shows that adolescents can become addicted to nicotine after ingesting the equivalent of twenty (20) traditional cigarettes, the amount traditionally available in a single pack. The appeal created by flavored e-cigarettes can lead adolescents into a lifetime of nicotine addiction; and WHEREAS, the nicotine content in e-cigarettes is unknown and unspecified and presents a significant health risk of rapid addiction to consumers; WHEREAS, the percentage of United States middle and high school students who use e- cigarettes more than doubled from 2011 and 2012, according to data published by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention; and WHEREAS, federal law restricting the sale of tobacco products to minors currently applies only to cigarettes, cigarette tobacco, roll-your-own tobacco, and smokeless tobacco, and