San Francisco first US city to ban e-cigarettes sale

TIL Desk/Business/San Francisco/ San Francisco has become the first major city in the US to ban the sale of electronic cigarettes, a measure that affects both brick-and-mortar stores and online retailers.

The 11 members of the city and county’s board of supervisors on Tuesday unanimously voted in favour of prohibiting the sale of this product, arguing that e-cigarettes have been gaining popularity among young people, which could pose a risk to their health.

The glaring contradiction remains that the city – widely seen as one of the most progressive places in the country – has banned the sale of e-cigarettes but continues to sell traditional tobacco (considered to be more provenly harmful by experts) without problems, as well as marijuana, whose recreational use has been legal in the state of California state since last year.

In response to those who have pointed out this seeming contradiction, the measure’s defenders have repeatedly stressed that e-cigarettes are particularly attractive to teenagers.