Legislation banning the smoking of electronic cigarettes indoor and in public spaces was passed by the New York City Council on Thursday, according to CBS.
E-cigarettes have been marketed in multiple flavors and have risen in use among young teens, CBS reported. They are battery operated and heat up liquids mixed with nicotine to produce a vapor instead of smoke.
In four months when the ban goes into effect, smoking e-cigarettes in any area where smoking is already prohibit will no longer be allowed, CBS reported. Businesses, including restaurants, will have six months to signs indicating "vaping" is not allowed.
Christine Quinn, a city council speaker, said after the ban is in effect, it will be easier to officials to enforce the Smoke-Free Air Act which bans smoking in bars, restaurants and any other indoor location, CBS reported.
"Because many of the e-cigarettes are designed to look like cigarettes and be used just like them, they can lead to confusion or confrontation," Quinn said, according to CBS.
According to the World Health Organization, E-cigarette health risks are undetermined because they do not contain tobacco, but opposition claim they create a new addiction among teens, according to CBS. The American Association of Public Health Physicians say e-cigarettes are primarily useful to wean addicts off traditional cigarettes.
"I think that it's unfortunate that now people who are in transition or successful in quitting smoking using this product are forced to go outside and forced to be with the smokers," Ilona Orshansky, an e-cigarette activist told CBS.
Restrictions on e-cigarettes have already been used by the Metropolitan Transit Authority which added e-cigarettes to the smoking ban on Long Island Railroad and Metro-North trains, CBS reported. Last year, Governor Andrew Cuomo also signed a bill which prohibited the sale of e-cigarettes to anyone under 18 and banned vaping within 100 feet of public or private school entrances.
