ORDINANCE
WHEPvEAS, the City of Chicago is a home rule unit of government pursuant to the 1970 Illinois Constitution, Article VII, Section 6(a); and
WHEPvEAS, pursuant to its home rule power, the City of Chicago may exercise any power and perform any function relating to its government and affairs including the power to regulate for the protection of the public health, safety, morals, and welfare; and
WHEREAS, protecting youth from the deleterious effects of smoking is a long-standing endeavor of this City Council; and
WHEREAS, as traditional cigarette use declines after decades-long public awareness campaigns, electronic cigarette ("e-cigarette") use has surged; and
WHEREAS, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Youth Risk Behaviors Survey the rate of e-cigarette use is now higher than cigarettes among Chicago high school students; and
WHEREAS, the CDC also notes that e-cigarettes are now the most commonly used tobacco product among youth; and
WHEREAS, in the United States, youth are more likely to use e-cigarettes than adults and a report by the U.S. Surgeon General in 2016 cited a 900% increase in e-cigarette use by high school students from 2011 to 2015; and
WHEREAS, the CDC stated in 2016 that more than 2 million U.S. middle and high school students reported using e-cigarettes in the past 30 days, including 4.3% of middle school students and 11.3% of high school students, and only 3.2% of adults were current e-cigarette users; and
WHEREAS, in 2015, most adults over age 45 that used e-cigarettes were former regular smokers and only 1.3% of adults who used e-cigarettes have never been cigarette smokers; and
WHEREAS, in contrast, 40% of e-cigarette users age 18 to 24 had never been regular cigarette smokers; and
WHEREAS, these statistics stand in contrast with the stated consumer group that e-cigarette companies claim to target when, as the makers of JUUL e-cigarettes state, "their goal is to provide adult smokers an alterna...
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