New law cracking down on smoke shops, selling vapes to children in Delaware County town
FOLCROFT, Pa. - One Delaware County borough says vaping is spiraling out control among teens, and even and pre-teens, in their community and beyond.
"It's a major problem across all of Delaware County," Andrew Hayman, borough manager in Folcroft, said on Good Day Philadelphia Monday. "We're experiencing more and more children vaping."
And more and more smoke shops are popping up around the small town, selling brightly colored vapes with cartoon character and flavors like strawberry lemonade.
"These are products are clearly targeted to children, and they’re for sale within a few hundred feet of school," Hayman said.
So, leaders in Folcroft are taking action to create distance between children and smoke shops - literally.
A new ordinance will not allow any vape or smoke shop to open within 1,000 feet of where kids would normally gather, including schools, daycares and churches.
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Shops that already sell vapes legally will be allowed to continue, but will be required to prominently display signs.
"It’s not about being anti-vaping, it's about keeping it away from children, who can't even legally purchase them," Hayman said.
The borough manager hopes surrounding communities will take similar steps to stop new smoke shops from opening in the area.
"We won’t see a result overnight, won’t stop everything, but we’re doing what we can to try and keep the stuff out of the hands of children," he said.