Daly City Mayor Wants to Shut Down Shops that Sell E-Cigarettes, Keep those that Sell Real Cigarettes

In a move that could not be more favorable to the cigarette industry in Daly City, California, the city's mayor wants to ban vape shops that sell electronic cigarettes which are being used by many Daly City smokers to quit smoking or cut down substantially on the amount they smoke, while allowing the city's 85 cigarette stores to continue selling those deadly products.

Ironically, Mayor Canepa wants to close up shop for stores which are arguably selling a product that deters consumers from using toxic tobacco cigarettes, while at the same time, protecting existing stores from this competition and allowing them to continue selling their deadly cigarettes to Daly City smokers, which according to recent data, include children, who were able to buy cigarettes at one out of every four Daly City cigarette stores.

In fact, 96% of residents of Daly City believe that it is far too easy for kids in Daly City to purchase cigarettes. Thus, the logical action taken by the Mayor was which of the following:

A. Crack down on the sale of cigarettes to minors in Daly City
B. Eliminate the sale of cigarettes in Daly City
C. Decrease the number of stores allowed to sell cigarettes in Daly City
D. Ban vape shops which sell cigarettes to zero youths in Daly City.

The answer, sadly, is D - ban vape shops which sell cigarettes to zero youth in Daly City. Moreover, youths are not even allowed in these vape shops and it would be quite easy to adopt rules to ensure that youths do not have access to these stores.

Congratulations to Mayor Canepa, for making an early bid for the 2014 Colonel Benjamin Church Anti-Smoking Hypocrisy Award.