10.4. SR SR 04-06-2015 - Laserfiche WebLink

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3/30/2015 City of Savage bans indoor tobacco sampling, further regulates a -cig use - Savage Pacer: Local Services and /or the Minnesota Department of Health. The city of Savage has now extended that list by making it illegal in the city to use e- cigarettes in any establishment where tobacco use is restricted by the Clean Indoor Air Act. That means it is now illegal in Savage to vape in bars, restaurants, and private clubs, office and industrial workplaces, retail stores, common areas of rental apartment buildings, hotels and motels, public transportation, including taxis; work vehicles, if more than one person is present; home offices with one or more on- site employees, or used as a place to meet or deal with customers (applicable only during work hours); public and private educational facilities; and auditoriums, arenas and meeting rooms. Eden Prairie took similar action in February, and at September's workshop, the Savage Council directed city staff to model an amendment to the city's tobacco licensing code after the ordinance Eden Prairie has regarding indoor public e- cigarette use. While proponents of e- cigarettes argue that they are healthier alternatives for inhaling nicotine and better for public health because they don't produce smoke, some say there is not enough research yet to know the impacts of e- cigarette use — both first -hand and second -hand. HOOKAH LOUNGES Minnesota's Clean Indoor Air Act allows retail establishments to offer sampling of tobacco products, but the definition of sampling is open to interpretation, creating gray areas when it comes to smoking products indoors. This has led some smoke shops to offer sampling rooms or "hookah lounges." A hookah is a standing water pipe, often with multiple "hoses," that is used to smoke flavored tobacco. Concerns surrounding hookah lounge operations include potential fire code violations, electrical hazards, commercial zoning violations, and air- quality issues. Assistant City Attorney Sarah Schwarzhoff said at September's workshop that with the prices of some cigars, "it's not an unreasonable thing" for customers to want to sample a product before buying an entire box of it. However, some stores are using the sampling exception as a way to create recreational lounges, which Schwarzhoff said is not honoring the intent of the exception. "Where we begin to see problems is where we see actual lounges, couches and everybody sitting around [smoking] for hours," Schwarzhoff said in September. "In Burnsville, they were having problems with noise, parking, the smell." http://www.swnewsmedia.com/savage� pacer/ news /local/ city -of- savage- bans -i ndoor- tobacco -sam pl i ng- further -regul ates- a /article_8d5f32bc- 29e2 -5c35- 9850 -7... 2/2