Smoking and Vaping
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Despite significant progress, tobacco use remains the number one preventable cause of death and disease in the U.S., including Colorado. Tobacco use in any form, is not safe. It causes cancer, heart disease and emphysema, harms reproductive health, and damages nearly every organ in the human body.
Breathe Free Broomfield
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Breathe Free Broomfield, a new program from Broomfield Public Health and Environment (BPHE) offers multiple options to help teens quit vaping. All services are free, confidential, LGBTQ+ friendly, and available to teens (ages 14+) without guardian consent or notification. Learn more on the Breathe Free Broomfield webpage.
How Broomfield Addresses Tobacco
Broomfield Public Health and Environment (BPHE) uses a comprehensive approach to prevent vaping and tobacco use among youth, encourage quitting among youth and adults, and eliminate exposure to secondhand smoke and vapor.
BPHE works to prevent youth from using tobacco by:
- Educating youth, parents, and the community on the harms of smoking and vaping, and correcting misperceptions about youth use.
- Providing resources to schools on evidence-based prevention and cessation programs, and safe disposal of vapes
- Supporting smoke and vape-free environments in the community to reduce exposure and normalization of tobacco use around youth.
- Informing decision-makers about policies that reduce access by youth to tobacco and vapes in the community.
BPHE supports adults who want to quit using tobacco by:
- Promoting proven cessation resources through media campaigns and other public education.
- Partnering with BPHE clinics and providers to offer education, support and referrals to cessation services for patients.
BPHE helped inform recent vaping and tobacco regulations to protect the public from secondhand smoke and prevent youth from ever starting to use tobacco. In 2019, the Broomfield City Council passed two ordinances:
Vaping and Smoking in Public Places
Ordinance No. 2104 added vaping to Broomfield’s smoke-free ordinance and expanded protections to specified outdoor areas such as public parks and open space, sporting venues, transit waiting areas, and outdoor dining and bar areas to the list of public places where smoking—and now vaping—are prohibited. Broomfield now has one of the most comprehensive smoke-free laws in the state.
Where is smoking prohibited in Broomfield?
Outdoor areas where smoking and vaping are prohibited:
- Outdoor dining and bar areas open to the public
- Entryways - 25-foot radius outside the main or front doorway
- Public transit waiting areas (e.g. bus stops)
- Public events that require a city permit
- Outdoor areas being used for athletic or sporting activity by or for the public
- Parks, reservations, playgrounds, recreation facilities, or any other open space area owned, leased, or under the control of the city, whether located within or without the corporate boundary limits of the city, which is devoted to recreation and leisure-time use by the public.
Indoor areas where smoking and vaping are prohibited:
- Public places and buildings such as retail and commercial establishments, libraries, theaters, museums, schools, public and private educational institutions, meeting rooms, any public meetings and small businesses regardless of the number of employees.
- Restaurants, bars, hotels, motels, casinos, limited gaming facilities (including bingo), billiard or pool halls, and bowling alleys.
- Grocery stores and food service establishments
Resources for Businesses
Tobacco Retail Licensing
Ordinance 2173 requires retailers selling tobacco/vape products in Broomfield to apply for a license and pay a licensing fee. There are penalties for retailers that violate the law by selling to anyone under the age of 21, including fines and the risk of losing their license to sell tobacco/vape products. It also raises the minimum legal sales age from 18 to 21 years. Businesses may apply for a license here.
How to Dispose of Vapes Safely
Do not put vape devices in your household trash or recycling. The lithium batteries can become damaged and cause fires. In addition, nicotine is toxic and should be treated as hazardous waste.
Broomfield residents can safely dispose of devices and e-liquids for free at the Boulder County Hazardous Materials Management Facility:
- 1901c 63rd Street, Boulder
- 720.564.2251
- www.BoulderCountyRecycles.org
If your child or pet ingests e-liquid, call the Rocky Mountain Poison and Drug Center for help: 888-222-1222.
Proper Disposal of Vape Devices Handout
Community partners can print this Vape Aware handout to promote safe disposal.
Tobacco cessation strategies are proven to save lives, improve quality of life, and save money. By simply identifying smokers, advising them to quit, and referring them to free cessation programs, healthcare providers improve the chances of helping patients successfully quit and improving their overall health and well-being.
Use the “Ask, Advise, Refer” Method to Help Patients Quit
Ask
- Ask every patient about tobacco use at every visit.
- Ask if the patient is a current user, former user or has never used tobacco products.
- Ask what kind of tobacco is used and how often.
Advise
- Advise every tobacco user to quit.
- Advise those that have tried to quit and not succeeded to try again.
Refer
- Refer patients to quitlines, websites and local programs for support.
Resources for Healthcare Providers
- FDA-Approved Medications to Help People Quit: There are nicotine replacement therapies (NRT), pharmaceuticals and other quit therapies that can help smokers deal with cravings and nicotine withdrawal symptoms. Using these products can double to triple a smoker’s chances of successfully quitting. Learn more here.
- Connect Smokers to Quit-Smoking Benefits: Smokers covered under Health First Colorado (Medicaid) get free quit-smoking benefits, including counseling and medication with no copay. Learn more here.
- Vaping among youth: Teens who vape are at higher risk for nicotine addiction, adverse effects of nicotine on developing brains, and cigarette use. Learn more about what you can do to address vaping here.
- Recommended free cessation programs you can refer your patients to:
- Colorado Quitline (anyone aged 12 and older)
- My Life, My Quit (teens)
- Baby and Me Tobacco Free (prenatal and postpartum women)