The Dallas City Council is considering whether to implement restrictions on where people can vape in the city.
Next week, the council will decide whether vaping in public places, like parks, should be prohibited. This follows a May 2023 recommendation from the Environmental Commission, a group appointed to advise the city council on environmental issues. In it, the commission recommended restrictions in public spaces because of “the negative health effects of vaping aerosol exposure,” per WFAA.
“The American Lung Association, American Heart Association, World Health Organization, Center for Disease Control, and the U.S. Surgeon General warn that both direct inhalation and second-hand inhalation from electronic smoking devices have health risks, particularly for vulnerable populations such as children and elderly individuals,” read the commission’s memo.
Last month, The Dallas Express reported that a new study found that vaping has immediate adverse effects on the body’s circulation. This was true with or without nicotine. Despite being marketed as less harmful alternatives to cigarettes, vapes contain cancer-causing carcinogens.
In March, the city council’s Park Trails and the Environment committee asked that the Office of Environmental Quality and Sustainability, along with the Environmental Commission, recommend amending Dallas’ smoke-free ordinance to include vaping.
If vaping rules in the city are amended to include parks, that would include all 277 acres of Fair Park, home of the State Fair of Texas. It is unclear if the fair would be granted any exceptions to any restrictions.
In September, Dr. Robin Armstrong, writing for The Dallas Express, described how flavored vapes are marketed to “entice young users” despite regulations that have attempted to limit their use. While flavored e-cigarettes were banned in 2020, they remain available in shops.
In 2022, more than 2.5 million American youth used e-cigarettes, according to the CDC’s National Youth Tobacco Survey. Of those, 85% indicated they prefer the flavored variety.
The vaping issue is expected to be considered by city officials on December 11.