The Warrensburg City Council updated its definition of smoking to include vaping on Monday night.

The city's ordinance was amended to include all forms of smoking, adding the wording “tobacco product being actively introduced into the human body by means of combustion or vaporization” to the definition.

The definition also was amended to include “any other plant material or organic compound being actively introduced into the human body by means of combustion or vaporization.”

Prof John Britton, director of the UK Centre for Tobacco & Alcohol Studies at the University of Nottingham, said that a recent study released in November “demonstrates that the availability of electronic cigarettes in the USA appears to have contributed to further declines in smoking among younger and older smokers, and more specifically that any gateway effect into smoking is more than offset by the effects of vaping among young people who would otherwise have smoked, and use of electronic cigarettes as a gateway away from smoking.

According to DailyAmerican.com, “the trend of vaping and juuling has become so popular because of social media and the idea that it is a healthier smoking alternative although there is very little proof.”

“As technology continues to advance, so do the ways in which underage teens can access illegal substances. With the recent advancements in the tobacco industry, the accessibility to these products has become easier for teens … juuls and vapes are just another vessel for users to consume nicotine,” the article concluded.

Another study concluded that vaping increased nearly 80 percent among high school students, and 50 percent among middle schoolers since last year.

As a result, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has proposed new measures against flavored nicotine products.

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