A town in Washington State is taking steps to protect the environment and its citizens by preventing a new smoke shop from being built in town.
According to Apple Valley News Now, the Cle Elum City Council has implemented a temporary ban on any new smoke shops to prevent one from being built near an establishment meant for teenagers.
Records show that a shop that would sell vapes, kratom, and paraphernalia had planned to move in across the street from The Shop Teen Center, a community center designed to give teenagers a safe space to hang out.
That prompted multiple community members, including school Superintendent John Belcher, to speak out against the location of the new shop.
As a result of the community backlash, the city council moved to ban any new smoke shops from opening in Cle Elum for six months, voting unanimously 7-0.
Vaping has quickly become a serious environmental and health problem. Disposable vapes have been found littered everywhere from yards to parks, and they've even been seen being carried around by wildlife.
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While they're an aesthetic problem, they're also an environmental one; because they're made of plastic and metal, the disposable vapes won't degrade within a reasonable timeframe and will add to the growing microplastic pollution problem.
Additionally, the chemicals contained in vapes can leach into the soil, causing numerous problems, as Decoded CA explained.
Vapes are also a direct health hazard. A study published in the journal Tobacco Induced Diseases showed that a number of toxic chemicals and heavy metals are found in the aerosol of vapes, meaning you're breathing in those chemicals on each puff.
Cle Elum's ban could ultimately last more than six months, per Apple Valley News Now. The town has scheduled a hearing on the ban 60 days after it begins, and it could be extended indefinitely after that.
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