Today’s guest blog is written by Dave Bratton, Youth Substance Use Prevention Coordinator for the Secaucus Coalition, who writes about the coalition’s effort to hold businesses accountable for selling flavored e-cigarettes and vaping products, which is illegal in New Jersey. Another effort to take on this issue comes from the New York Attorney General’s Office, which has filed a lawsuit against distributors for being in violation of their state law.

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Prevention Efforts to Address Illegal Sales of Flavored E-Cigarettes in My Town

Dave Bratton - Youth Substance Use Prevention Coordinator, Secaucus Coalition 

When it comes to the prevention of tobacco and nicotine use by our youth, and the challenges we face, I remember the words of Jeff Wigand, former Vice President for Brown and Williamson, who took on the tobacco industry as a whistleblower for their secretive and harmful practices, “In fact the mantra within the [tobacco] industry is, ‘Hook them young, hook them for life.”

According to the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids, as of 2024, 18.2% of New Jersey teens use e-cigarettes. That number was even higher a few years ago, motivating the New Jersey State Legislature to pass legislation that banned the sale of flavored e-cigarette products in 2020. Yes, that long ago. Multiple studies reveal that flavored nicotine products are enticing to our youth. The Center for Disease Control warns that addiction, as well as other physical and mental negative health effects, are a few of the many reasons why youth should steer clear of e-cigarettes.

Although the law is quite strong, it did not eliminate the illicit sale of these products. When the legislation passed, I was hopeful that all businesses in my community would remove these illegal products from their shelves. That was…optimistic of me. Unfortunately, we found a number of local businesses that were not in compliance. I remember the morning I walked into a local convenience store in Secaucus and saw a wall full of flavored products, some even featuring images of superheroes (I doubt DC or MARVEL said ok to that!). After the ban was put into place, our coalition discussed how best to address this important health issue.

Since the legislation has passed, the Town of Secaucus has taken protective measures to further decrease the negative impact that e-cigarettes have on our youth.

1. We made a determined effort to inform store owners and employees about the new law by providing them with a copy of the legislation and a fact sheet that illustrated the basic points of the law: selling flavored e-cigarettes is prohibited in New Jersey, and that selling them can result in a summons and a fine for violating Town Code and State Law. 
2. The following week we sent out the Town health inspector to inform each e-cigarette license holder of the legislation and to answer any questions the licensees have. Businesses that continued to sell illegal products despite the warning were given a summons and fined.
3. We increased annual licensing fees from $50 to $1,000, and the fee will again be increased to $1,200 beginning in 2026.
4. We limited the amount of e-cigarette licenses within our Town. Only 11 businesses in Town have a license to sell e-cigarette products.
5. We amended our e-cigarette ordnance to include an attrition clause. If a licensee surrenders their license, the number of e-cigarette licenses that may be issued by the Town decreases by one. E-cigarette licenses issued by the Town are never transferable.
6. Our student coalition has given presentations to hundreds of their peers and younger students about the negative impact and consequences of vaping.
7. We encouraged community members via social media to be on the look-out for illegal sales and to report stores that are selling flavored vapes to the local health department—we even made a video.
8. We mailed ID Guides to both liquor and e-cigarette license holders to help them identify whether or not IDs are authentic. We did this free of charge.

This would not have been possible without the help and support of Mayor Michael Gonnelli and the Town Council, the Secaucus Health Department, the Secaucus Board of Health, and other local government officials. In Secaucus, we are also very fortunate to not only have an active community and youth coalition, but caring decision makers. We are doing what we can here to steer children and youth away from vaping--and we’re not finished.  I hope that your town is having success at reducing youth access to illegal e-cigarette products, and I encourage you to work with your local officials and your coalitions and alliances to consider taking similar action in your community.
 

Notice: This article reflects the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the Partnership for a Drug-Free New Jersey (PDFNJ). This information should not be construed as legal advice from the author or PDFNJ. Please consult your own attorney before making any legal decisions.

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The Partnership for a Drug-Free New Jersey’s Drugs Don’t Work in NJ workplace program provides technical assistance to any New Jersey business, not-for-profit, community or faith-based agency interested in updating their drug-free workplace policies and procedures. All programs and services are provided free of charge.