Vaping: Yes or No?

11/6/19 Business Meeting

By: Joseph L. Kuchie

SOUTH AMBOY – The South Amboy city council continues to look for ways to prevent vape products from being sold in town.

Vaping has become a hot-button political topic over the last month, as over 1,600 different cases of vaping-related lung injuries have been recorded, with 34 of them leading to deaths.

City Attorney Francis Womack explained that the city could not just ban vape products from being sold due to state limitations. He did say, however, that certain towns in New Jersey have attempted to pass laws to limit sales as much as possible.

“We can’t ban them, we have to comport with New Jersey limitations on smoke and vape, the smoking limitations passed by the state also apply to vaping regulations,” Womack said. “We can make sure they are strictly enforced.”

“We could very easily apply the ordinance from Morristown and Westfield, what it does if you want to sell vape products…  you have to come get a license from the city, specifically to be allowed to sell vape products,” he continued. “The state assembly did specifically say that towns are allowed to use stricter enforcement on it.”

Councilman Tom Reilly asked if there was a way to add Vape stores to the already existing land use laws that exist in South Amboy. Currently these laws prevent laundromats and tattoo parlors from moving into South Amboy, and Reilly asked if vape stores could be added to the list.

Womack mentioned that they could look into this idea, but it would take time to get approved and passed. The council will also be looking to add more restrictions on vape products, including preventing vape products from being sold within 500 feet from schools and passing ordinances that would prevent anyone under the age of 21 from entering a store that sells vape products.

The city is also looking into charging non-resident seniors to use some of South Amboy’s recreational services, including the Senior Center. Currently out-of-town residents can come to South Amboy and use certain facilities free of charge.

Business Administrator Glenn Skarzynski recommended that the city charge non-resident seniors $60/year to use South Amboy services, and that cost would drop down to $50 if the seniors register in-advance. The council was open to the change.

All members of the council were in attendance for the business meeting. The next city council meeting will be held on November 25th at 7:00 p.m.