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Fabiola Santiago: E-cigarettes bring threat of new addiction for kids - 04/08/20141 Miami... Page 2 of 2 minors. Miami-Dade County passed an ordinance banning smoking them in government buildings — and a resolution supporting a state initiative to ban sales to minors. But since the county passed that resolution, an amendment has been added to the bill working its way through the Florida Legislature that's nothing short of a betrayal of the local governments that acted quickly to protect the youth in their turf. "We're not trying to ban them, just trying to keep kids from being exposed and saying they should go behind the shelves," Commissioner Barbara Jordan told me Tuesday. "It's putting the electorate first." But as the legislature has done with gun laws to please the powerful NRA lobby, the amendment seeks to ban local governments from passing tobacco and e-cigarette laws, in deference to the tobacco lobby — a major contributor to political campaigns. Bill sponsor Rep. Frank Artiles, R-Miami, calls the amendment a "compromise" and says he hasn't been swayed by the tobacco lobby — but it sure looks like it. The move has put anti-smoking groups in the awkward position of working to kill what was originally an anti-smoking bill. Perhaps Artiles and his colleagues need a little reminder of how constituents feel. A Miami Herald online poll taken in February when the City of Miami voted on the issue shows overwhelming support — 87 percent—for banning the sale of e-cigarettes to minors. As for the young man peddling e-cigarettes and getting thumbs down from drivers, he worked the gig on and off for a few days — and then, he was gone. Good riddance. The last thing our vulnerable children need is another addiction to pull them down. © 2014 Miami Herald Media Company. All Rights Reserved. http://www.miamiherald.com http://www.miamiherald.com/2014/04/08/v-print/4047274/fabiola-santiago-e-cigarettes.html 4/11/2014