The Westminster City Council will consider an ordinance Wednesday to regulate e-cigarette businesses.

The regulations would require tobacco and electronic cigarette retailers to obtain a police permit before operating, limit hours of operation, require window tinting and signs, and not allow sales within 500 feet of a school.

Earlier this year, Seal Beach restricted e-cigarette businesses to commercial zones. Buena Park also instituted a smoking ban, including use of e-cigarettes, in city parks.

A growing number of California cities are starting to regulate electronic cigarettes, battery-powered devices that mimic tobacco smoke by heating liquid nicotine into vapor. While advocates say e-cigarettes are safer than tobacco products and can even help some smokers quit, the health effects are not clear. The FDA currently is devising new regulations on e-cigarettes.

The council meeting Wednesday night starts at 7 p.m. Read the full agenda here.

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