Howell Begins Enforcing Public Smoking Ban To Curb Teen Vaping

HOWELL, NJ — Howell Township police will begin enforcing an updated ordinance that bans smoking on municipal property, including its buildings and parks and recreation facilities, officials announced.

The ordinance that addresses “Smoking in Public Places; Electronic Smoking Device Use and Sales; Tobacco Sales” was updated in April 2023 to address e-cigarettes and vaping, particularly among teenagers, according to the township's Municipal Alliance.

The previous ordinance had been in place for decades but had not been updated to reflect the changes in products available or to reflect New Jersey's age restriction, which bans the sale of all nicotine and tobacco products to anyone under 21 years old.

Flavored and disposable e-cigarettes with strong concentrates of nicotine, synthetic nicotine, and THC have fueled the teen and young adult vaping epidemic, the Howell Municipal Alliance said. Nicotine, marijuana, alcohol, and other mind-altering substances can pose serious short- and long-term consequences on the brain, which develops until at least age 25. THC is the main psychoactive chemical in marijuana (also known as cannabis).

"Aimed at protecting our youth from nicotine addiction and substance use disorders, the updated smoking, electronic smoking device, and tobacco/nicotine sales ordinance in Howell addresses the following key points," the alliance said.

Enforcement of the ban on smoking on public property:

• Howell Township Police Department officers will enforce smoking on public property and in public places by issuing violations, no matter what substance is being smoked (the substance being smoked will not need to be checked).

Violators will be fined, and in lieu of the first offense, the Howell Township Municipal Court judge may discretionarily waive the $250 fee with proof of completion of RWJ Barnabas Health Institute for Prevention and Recovery’s 8-week Nicotine and Tobacco Recovery Program, or another similar, accredited cessation program.

• Fines for smoking on public property are as follows: $250 for the first offense; $500 for the second offense; and $1,000 for the third and subsequent offenses.

Enforcement of retail electronic smoking device product sales laws:

• Howell Township code enforcement officers and police officers will enforce electronic smoking device product sales violations for selling, distributing, or providing any e-cigarette product to anyone under 21 and all sales of flavored e-cigarette products, regardless if they contain nicotine.

• Operating a business that sells any type of e-cigarette products without securing and keeping in good standing a township license to do so will result in fines. The new e-cigarette retailer license is $1,000 and will need to be renewed annually.

• Fines for retail electronic smoking device product sales violations are as follows: $1,000 for the first offense; $1,500 for the second offense; and $2,000 for the third and subsequent offenses.

• Any establishment with 2 violations per year or 5 total violations is subject to permanent license revocation at the discretion of the mayor and council.

• Random inspections of retail electronic smoking device product establishments will be made by code enforcement and police officers, as deemed necessary, to check for compliance with proper signage, underage and flavored product sales, and other regulations.

In New Jersey, regardless of the age of the purchaser, all flavored e-cigarette products have been banned from sale since April 2020. This does not apply to traditional combustible cigarettes (menthol are still allowed, but that may change in the near future). It is also unlawful in New Jersey for any retailer to give away e-cigarette products or to accept e-cigarette coupons.

There are no nicotine or THC potency caps, and electronic cigarette pods and e-liquids may contain stronger nicotine salts, synthetic nicotine, and higher nicotine concentrates than traditional combustible cigarettes.

Some kids vape 2 to 3 nicotine pods per day, as well as high-potency concentrated marijuana products with THC levels of up to almost 100 percent, which has been linked to psychoses and cannabis use disorder, the alliance said.

For reference, marijuana in the 1970s and 1980s contained 3 to 5 percent THC.

The legal age for purchasing tobacco/nicotine is 21, which includes all oral, tobacco, nicotine, and synthetic nicotine products. To legally purchase and possess alcohol and marijuana, a person must also be 21 years of age.