(03/19/19) - Anyone under the age of 18 caught smoking, possessing or selling e-cigarettes or other vaping materials in Bay City will soon face fines and community service.
"We wanted to make sure that we sent a strong message to people in our city not to sell to anybody under 18, furnish vaping or e-cigarettes to anybody under 18," said City Manager Dana Muscott.
Muscott said while it's already illegal to sell to anyone under the age of 18, the city's new ordinance will also make it illegal for anyone underage to possess or sell vaping or e-cigarette materials. City commissioners unanimously support it.
The request for the ordinance stems from concerns at schools where the smoking devices are easier to hide than traditional cigarettes. "It's easy for students to take that on campus, and obviously the schools don't want that on campus, and so you know we thought we'd be a good partner, because we want to stop that as well," Muscott said.
Along with fines beginning at $100, offenders will also face increasing hours of community service. First offense is eight hours, second is 16 hours, and third is 24 hours.
"We will find something for them to do in the city if we get to a point," Muscott said.
Muscott said many other cities across the state already have some type of law on the books allowing Bay City to put something together to help in the fight against teen vaping.
"We have good intentions for it to do good for our younger people, but most of the time if they want something they're going to find a way to get it, but this is just one more tool in our toolbox to stop it from happening in the schools," Muscott said.
After a public hearing on April 1, the ordinance should go into effect on April 4.