At its meeting Thursday night, the Brighton City Council approved the first reading of a city ordinance that would ban both the sale of e-cigarettes to minors and possession of e-cigarettes or vaping products by minors.

Under federal law, vaping is illegal for minors under the age of 18 under federal law. But Michigan is in a dubious class all by itself: it is the only state in the nation in which vaping by minors is not illegal. And federal law doesn’t bar the possession of vaping products by those under 18. The city of Brighton is poised to enact an ordinance that would make vaping illegal within the city limits. The city will have a public hearing and second reading on the proposed vaping ordinance at a May meeting.

Brighton Police Chief Rob Bradford tells WHMI that under the proposed ordinance, vaping would be a civil, and not a criminal, infraction. And he says it would be up to the officer whether the individual is handed a citation or given a “diversion”. Bradford explains that a diversion, or alternate charge, can be given at the officer’s discretion and might involve something like writing a paper about why vaping or smoking marijuana is bad.

Chief Bradford says that while city police won’t be able to enforce the ban on vaping in schools outside the city limits, such as Maltby Intermediate and Scranton Middle School, he is hopeful that bills banning vaping by minors under consideration in the state house and senate will soon be passed. (TT)