NEW YORK, (Reuters) – The New York City Council voted to add electronic cigarettes to the city’s strict smoking ban yesterday, in what could be the latest of many anti-tobacco measures put in place by outgoing Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
Bloomberg’s detractors have derided him for trying to impose a “nanny state” in America’s largest city, pointing to his bans on smoking, trans fats and the attempt to limit the sale of large sugary drinks. Public health advocates have applauded those same efforts. Only weeks after New York became the first major city to raise the legal age for buying tobacco to 21, the City Council voted 43-8 to add electronic cigarettes to the city’s Smoke-Free Air Act. If the mayor signs the bill, which he is expected to do, smoking e-cigarettes – or “vaping” – would be prohibited at public and private venues such as beaches, parks, restaurants and office buildings after 120 days. City Council speaker, Christine Quinn, who sponsored the bill, said at a press conference yesterday that the public use of e-cigarettes threatens to undermine enforcement of anti-smoking laws because their appearance is similar to traditional cigarettes and could “re-normalize smoking in public places.”
