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TO: Mayor Richard C. Irvin
FROM: Deb Lang, Assistant Corporation Counsel
DATE: March 7, 2018
SUBJECT:
An ordinance amending Chapter 13 of the City of Aurora Code of Ordinances Entitled "Cigarettes, Cigars and Tobacco".
PURPOSE:
The proposed amendment seeks to add "alternative nicotine and vapor products" to the ordinance that governs tobacco, cigarettes and cigars as well as change the legal age allowed to purchase said products from eighteen (18) to twenty-one (21).
BACKGROUND:
In February, the City of Aurora met with representatives from the American Heart Association, the Respiratory Health Association and the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network to hear a proposal regarding their "Tobacco 21" (T21) initiative. The T21 program is designed for local governmental entities and encourages the review of tobacco ordinances to incorporate "alternative tobacco products" as well as adjust the age of individuals eligible to purchase said products. It is also working in tandem with House Bill 4297 and Senate Bill 2332.
Upon beginning the review process, it was discovered that the Aurora Police Department, through a School Resource Officer, had begun working with Alderman Mervine to explore implementing new measures to restrict the use of "alternative tobacco products" in schools. The proposed ordinance combines the T21 language as well as the addition of addressing the alternative nicotine products. Currently, fifteen (15) units of local government have passed local ordinances:
Berwyn
Buffalo Grove
Bolingbrook
Chicago
Deerfield
Elk Grove
Evanston
Highland Park
Lake County
Lincolnshire
Maywood
Mundelein
Naperville
Oak Park
Vernon Hills.
DISCUSSION:
Chapter 13 was last modified in 2009. Since that time, the use and access to alternative nicotine and vapor products has skyrocketed. The proposed changes seek to address access to such products to individuals who are twenty-one (21) and older.
The information provided in support of the T21 ...
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