News and Events

Dixie County Commission Passes Ordinance to Restrict Youth Access and Exposure to Electronic Cigarettes
February 6, 2014

At the November 21, 2013 Dixie County Commission Meeting, Commissioner Jodi Robson discussed his attendance at the most recent Dixie County Anti-Drug Coalition meeting where he learned about electronic cigarettes and he was not happy that there was no age restriction on the sale of them to minors.  He suggested that the county commissioners draft an ordinance on e-cigarettes.

The Dixie County Attorney, Jennifer Ellison reviewed e-cigarette ordinance from other counties and drew up an ordinance that prohibited the sale of e-cigarettes and liquid nicotine to persons under the age of eighteen, for the prohibition on the use within the county of an e-cigarette where smoking is prohibited, and for a prohibition on self-service merchandising in the sale of e-cigarettes and liquid nicotine, The ordinance also outlined enforcement and penalties. 

The county commissioners advertised the ordinance for over three weeks and put it up for a final vote on February 6, 2014.  At that meeting, the County Commissioners voted unanimously to pass the e-cigarette ordinance. 

Commissioner Gene Higginbotham also shared that he would like to see more counties adopt an e-cigarette ordinance to build support toward a state wide e-cigarettes policy.

Twelve Dixie County High School SWAT students attended the county commissioners meeting to thank them for passing the ordinance.

Dixie County Commission
Back Row, L to R: Dana Johnson (Clerk of Court), Gene Higginbotham (Commissioner), Jody Robson (Commissioner), Marvin Hunt (Commissioner), J. Ronnie Edmonds (Commissioner), Jason Holifield (Commissioner), Jennifer Ellison (County Attorney); SWAT Youth, L to R: Todd Pinner, Haelyn Saunders, Sarah Hurst, Steven Quaka, Maggie Iorio, Cheyenne Besterman, Elizabeth Nunez, Brooke Windler, Josh Diaz, Miryah Cooper, Michael Wright, Lindsey Whittington (SWAT Advisor), and David Gumbs.

Maggie Iorio, a SWAT officer, shared an experience she had recently at the Cross City McDonalds, where two women were smoking e-cigarettes inside while she was trying to eat.  Maggie has severe asthma, and felt an asthma attack starting.  She went to the clerks and asked if they were allowed to smoke inside the building and the clerk told her they could do nothing about it.  Maggie thanked the commissioners for passing this ordinance so that there will be something that they can do about it now.  

Sarah Hurst, Dixie County High School SWAT President, thanked the county commissioners for always supporting the Dixie County Tobacco Free Partnership and the Dixie County SWAT, and for doing what they can to help keep Dixie County Youth healthy.

For more information on the work of the Tobacco Free Partnership of Dixie County, contact us at info@tfp-dixie.org.