Representatives from a local prevention coalition and the Passaic NAACP urged the City Council on Jan. 21 to expand enforcement and consider ordinances to curb sales of flavored electronic cigarettes and hemp products that they say are reaching children.

Vanessa Paz, program coordinator for the Passaic City Coalition, told the council the coalition collected data showing a sharp increase in underage sale violations across the state after 2020 and local growth in the density of smoke shops in Passaic. “Enforcement isn't the only issue,” Paz said. “It also has to do with monitoring the environment in which these sales happen, whether there is the capacity or manpower to enforce the laws, and whether there are local laws in place to create an environment that allows an ease of monitoring and an ease of enforcement to happen.”

Sherry Greer, president of the Passaic NAACP and student assistance coordinator at Passaic High School, told the council she has seen rising use among high-school students and has begun receiving calls about elementary students testing positive. Greer said the trend requires both enforcement and more prevention programming: “It really needs to be taken seriously.”

Council members and the mayor acknowledged the problem and praised the coalition's data-driven approach. Councilman Love commended the group's “advocating for enforcement” and said city leaders are willing to meet and discuss further steps.

What was raised: coalition materials included a state summary of underage sale violations (2012–2024), a map of smoke-shop density (2021–2024), and samples of ordinances other municipalities have used. Paz asked the council to consider stronger local tools and sustained enforcement rather than one-off compliance checks.

Next steps: Paz offered the coalition’s help gathering additional data and examples of ordinances other cities have used; council members signaled openness to follow-up discussions with the coalition and city enforcement staff.