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of Mounds View Staff To: Honorable Mayor and City Council From: Desaree Crane, Assistant City Administrator Item Title/Subject: First Reading of Ordinance 885, Amending Chapter 512 of the City Cigarette and Tobacco Code by Adding Language Relating to Electronic Cigarettes (E -Cigarettes) Background Chapter 512 of the Mounds View City Code does not address nor regulate Electronic Cigarettes (E -Cigarettes). The Ramsey Tobacco Coalition is requesting that cities seriously consider regulating E -Cigarettes under local tobacco retailer license ordinances and local smoke-free workplace ordinances. All businesses currently selling E -Cigarettes in Mounds View have tobacco business licenses because they sell tobacco. However, if a business were to open in Mounds View that was only selling E -Cigarettes, then the business could do this legally without obtaining a business license under the City's current Municipal Code. Discussion The Electronic Cigarette (E -Cigarette) was introduced in the U.S. Market in 2007, and offers an alternative to smoking tobacco. Most E -Cigarettes are similar in appearance to be mistaken for regular cigarettes, but a look inside and you will see the main difference. E -Cigarettes do not contain tobacco. There's a mechanism in the E Cigarette that heats up liquid nicotine, which turns into a vapor that a person inhales and exhales. E -Cigarettes are designed to look just like regular cigarettes, but there is one major difference. You do not need a match or lighter to use them: Instead, they hold a battery, a vaporization chamber, and a cartridge filled with liquid nicotine. Puff on the device as a regular cigarette, and the device heats up the liquid and changes it to a vapor. It looks like you are smoking a regular cigarette, but there is no smell because nothing is burning. An Electronic Cigarette can contain as much nicotine as a regular cigarette or more. The amount of nicotine an Electronic Cigarette delivers depends on the content of the liquid nicotine cartridge installed in it. Customers can choose cartridges containing nicotine in a range of strengths. There are also cartridges that contain liquid without nicotine, for users who want the sensory experience of smoking without its effect. Because E -Cigarettes contain no tobacco, E -Cigarettes are not subject to U.S. tobacco laws. At the November 2013 Work Session, it was the consensus of the City Council to define and regulate E -Cigarettes in the City's Cigarette and Tobacco Code. Attached for your first reading is Ordinance 885, which revises sections of the Chapter 512 of the City Code by adding language relating to E -Cigarettes. A representative from the Ramsey Tobacco Coalition will be available at this meeting to answer any questions you may have about E - Cigarettes.