The Brooklyn Center City Council will consider banning the sampling of tobacco products at tobacco shops. The ban would include smoking conventional cigarettes, cigars and tobacco pipes at smoke shops as well as inhaling or "vaping" electronic cigarettes.
The public can comment at the Feb. 10 council meeting, after which the council will vote on the issue.
The Minnesota Clean Air Act bans most public smoking but includes an exception for sampling in licensed tobacco retailers. Cities are allowed to place further restrictions. The act does not include e-cigarettes.
City Council members introduced the sampling ban as vaping has grown in popularity, especially among teens. E-cigarettes are battery-operated products that heat liquid nicotine, along with flavors and other chemicals, into a vapor.
Shannon Prather
@stribshannon
