Video: L.A. Moves Closer to a Ban

The Los Angeles city council moved a step closer Monday to banning the use of e-cigarettes in public areas where smoking is prohibited.

“We were surprised at how misinformed the committee was,” he told us. “They were using statements like lighting up, smoking – improper terms.”

–Brandon O’Connell, VapeDay

The matter has now moved out of committee, with a decision made to push forward toward amending smoking legislation to include electronic cigarettes, despite any evidence of health risks. Instead, the council is planning to ban the use of the devices because they look like smoking, according to City Attorney Mike Feuer, who says the ban should remain in place even if it can proven that vaping has no negative health effects whatsoever. “Even if it were determined later on that the emissions from e-cigarettes aren’t dangerous to a bystander in an outside environment, the existence of devices like this… in public places does threaten to renormalize the behavior of smoking.”

Unlike other cities, though, vaping will still be allowed in some shared spaces. LA Weekly reports that an amendment was agreed upon Monday evening which would allow the use of electronic cigarettes in vaping lounges.

L.A. City Council Takes Up Controversial E-Cigarette Ban | KTLA 5.

Video: L.A. Moves Closer to a Ban