Retailers in Rye, Harrison, and Rye Brook can no longer sell vaping devices that look like highlighters, pens, USB drives, or toys under a new Westchester County law signed Tuesday, July 28, by County Executive Ken Jenkins.

The law targets e-cigarettes and vaping products camouflaged as everyday items that health officials say are marketed directly to children. The banned products include devices resembling school supplies, smartphone cases, smartwatches, drink containers, and backpacks.

"A vape disguised as a highlighter or pen is not clever design — it is a deliberate attempt to hide nicotine addiction in plain sight," Legislator Jewel Williams Johnson, who chairs the Board of Legislators' Committee on Health and sponsored the bill, said at the signing ceremony.

First-time violators face fines of $300 to $1,500. Repeat offenders face $1,000 to $2,500. The Westchester County Board of Health will enforce the law across all county municipalities.

How it got here

Jenkins first proposed the ban at his State of the County address on Wednesday, May 6. Williams Johnson credited Jenkins' summer interns with helping bring the emerging threat to his attention, saying young people often recognize what is reaching their peers before adults do.

Legislators Colin Smith and Williams Johnson co-presented the resolution at the Board of Legislators' Monday, June 29, meeting, setting a public hearing. The full Board then voted unanimously to approve the ban on Wednesday, July 22, according to county legislative records.

The vote was unanimous.

School leaders weigh in

Ray Sanchez, president of the Lower Hudson Valley Council of School Superintendents, the regional body representing districts including those in Rye, Harrison, and Rye Brook, praised the legislation at the signing. He said removing deceptive devices from the marketplace strengthens the work schools do every day to help students make healthy choices.

Joseph Ricca, superintendent of the White Plains City School District, called the disguised devices "a serious problem facing every parent/guardian in our communities," according to the county's announcement.

Molly Franco, community engagement coordinator for POW'R Against Tobacco, called the law an important public health victory and a step toward a tobacco-free future for the county.

What's next

The county has not announced when enforcement begins or how residents can report suspected violations to the Board of Health.

The Board of Legislators is separately considering a second bill, sponsored by Williams Johnson, that would allow the Board of Health to enforce a prohibition on businesses possessing flavored nicotine vape products. That measure was signed by the Health Committee on Monday, July 27, and still needs full Board approval.