TOLEDO, Ohio — Toledo City Council made their next move when it comes to banning flavored vaping products in the city.
Council members voted 11 to 1 in favor of restricting the sale of flavored vaping products and e-cigarettes. Only certified vaping stores in Toledo will be allowed to sell them, which means gas stations and convenience stores will have to take their cotton candy juuls off their shelves.
"Some people you know are buying stuff off the streets they're getting harmed, they're mixing it," one convenience store owner said.
Hassan is the owner of Reynolds Mini Mart and vapes himself. He recognizes the issue going on with teens using unsafe vaping devices but does not believe banning flavors is the answer.
"Some customers really need that liquid while they're here, it's convenient for them obviously! And if they're convenient right here and they can't get their e-cigarettes, they'll go back to plan B which is back to cigarettes," Hassan said.
When council member Larry Sykes introduced this bill back in October, the original plan was to ban the sale of all flavored vaping products everywhere in town. However, vaping shops quickly spoke out about how this would hurt their business and people trying to quit smoking.
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The hope is that by restricting the flavored products to vape shops only, teens will be less likely to get their hands on them.
"Flavors always appeal to kids, its not always the vaping products, it's also the cigarettes. They're going with other flavors to attract people" Raj Goyal, Short Stop convenience store owner, said.
In the past, Toledo City Councilman Larry Sykes had plans for putting the legislation into place by Jan. 1. However, the law cannot be enforced until 30 days after the mayor signs off.