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Board moves to revive smoke‑shop ordinance and stepping up youth vaping enforcement
Summary
East Orange officials described a recent sting that shut an unlicensed store after a child bought vapes; board counsel said drafting a smoke‑shop ordinance and forming a task force are resuming to curb youth access and tighten licensing.
Wayne Bass, from the Mayor’s Office of Constituent Services, briefed the board on youth vaping and a recent enforcement action in which Code Enforcement and an SRT team seized vapes and marijuana from a store at Burnett and Central that lacked a dispensary license and was closed.
Bass said the incident came to the attention of previous health leadership and noted ongoing coordination with schools, the superintendent and Code Enforcement to reduce youth access. Director Maponya suggested leveraging a new environmental health specialist’s experience with retailer compliance checks that use minors to test sales.
Board counsel Emeka Madubuogo said prior work on a smoke‑shop licensing ordinance stalled last year but discussions are now resuming and a task force will be created to regulate licensing and sales of vaping and cannabis products. "Efforts from the previous year had stalled but discussions were now resuming, with plans to create a task force dedicated to regulation," the minutes record reports. Members discussed possible licensing caps, moratoriums and stronger enforcement to prevent sales to minors.
