Vaping Discussion, Committee Meeting Postponed In Morris Twp

MORRIS TOWNSHIP, NJ — Wednesday night's Morris Township Committee meeting has been postponed due to the snow, officials said. It will now be held on Wednesday, Feb. 27.

The proposed ban on underage nicotine possession and consumption, including vaping, was set for discussion. Originally scheduled for a final vote at Wednesday's meeting, the final vote will now take place at the March 20 committee meeting. A presentation by the police department and other health professionals, and a question and answer session will now take place at the postponed meeting.

"The Township Committee recognizes that the skyrocketing use of vaping/nicotine products by young people is a multi-faceted problem that requires multi-faceted solutions. We see this ordinance as one step in moving in that direction. The Township Committee wants to assure residents that we will not rush through the approval of this local legislation. The Mayor and Township Committee are working to ensure that members of the public have clarity on how this proposed measure would be enforced," officials said while announced the delay of the vote.

The ordinance would ban the possession of tobacco, smokeless tobacco, and electronic tobacco devices, more commonly known as e-cigarettes or vapes, by anyone under 21, the legal age to buy nicotine products.

Buying nicotine underage is currently illegal, but it is not illegal to possess tobacco if you are underage, township officials said at the Jan. 16 meeting. Morris Township Mayor Jeffrey Grayzel called the proposal "groundbreaking legislation."

"We are going to try to lead the way in the state of New Jersey to take hold of the epidemic that's gripped schools around the country, but also in our community. Police brought this to our attention, we have recourse officers in our schools, and this will give them some enforcement tools to deal with this problem," Grayzel said.

Township Administrator Timothy Quinn said that police would take more of an intervention approach than a punishment approach to enforcing the ordinance, and that police would likely contact a teen's parents as the first step.

Prescribed medical marijuana consumed with a vaporizer device would not fall under the law, officials said.

Vaping has skyrocketed in popularity with teenagers in recent years, with 16 percent of all high school seniors saying they vape. Vaping increases the chance of turning to traditional cigarettes: 30 percent of teens who vape will start smoking cigarettes within six months, the National Institute on Drug Abuse says.

About two-thirds of teens who vape think their vapes are full of just flavoring; While there are nicotine free vapes, most tend to contain more nicotine than traditional cigarettes. One Juul pod, the most popular type of vape, contains 20 cigarettes worth of nicotine. They can also be used to vape marijuana.

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