The city of South Portland is considering what would be Maine’s first ban on the flavored tobacco used in electronic cigarettes, The Forecaster first reported.
The potential ban comes as use of e-cigarettes — also called vaping — among Maine high school students has increased from 1.5 percent in 2011 to 20.8 percent in 2018, according to the Portland Press Herald.
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The ordinance would ban sales of the tobacco liquid with anything “other than the taste or aroma of tobacco, menthol, mint or wintergreen” starting Sept. 1, The Forecaster reported.
City councilors have asked the city attorney to research and revise the prospective ordinance language, which was spurred in part by the opening of a vape shop near South Portland’s Mahoney Middle School. The council will discuss the measure again later this month, the newspapers reported.
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