Orange Park police are in the process of visiting all the places where electronic cigarettes are sold to explain what’s in a new city ordinance regulating the vapor smokes.
Under the new law approved this week by the Orange Park City Council, stores will have to keep e-cigarettes behind the counter and they can no longer sell to anyone younger than 18
Plus, people who use e-cigs will now have to smoke outside with their tobacco-using counterparts.
According to interim city manager John Bowles, even though Clay County has an e-cigarette law on the books, it doesn't apply to Orange Park, which is why city leaders felt it their duty to pass a law.
“If the county passes an ordinance," he explained, "it will apply in the unincorporated area of the county only in that there are four municipalities, it would not apply to any of those four."
The three other municipalities are Green Cove Springs, Penney Farms and Keystone Heights.
Bowles said he's pretty sure Orange Park is the only one of the four to pass a law restricting the sale and the use of e-cigarettes.
Anyone who breaks Orange Park’s law will be charged with a misdemeanor. Repeat offenders could be fined as much as $500.
You can follow Cyd Hoskinson on Twitter @cydwjctnews.
