Iowa City council gives approval to first reading of e-cigarette restrictions

IOWA CITY — Users of electronic cigarettes soon could be required to abide by the same restrictions as those who smoke traditional tobacco products.

The Iowa City Council on Tuesday voted 6-0, with council member Rick Dobyns absent, to approve the first of three readings to amend the city's public health and safety ordinance to ban the use of battery-operated products that deliver nicotine to the user in all places where it is illegal to smoke tobacco.

According to the amendment, electronic cigarettes will be prohibited anywhere that state law or city code bans smoking tobacco, which includes almost all public places, places of employment and enclosed city-owned buildings.

Council member Susan Mims said she was supportive of the amendment, noting that, due to the nature of the product, the actual ingredients in e-cigarettes remains largely unknown to users.

'There is not good science out there yet to determine if these are safe,' she said. 'People don't necessarily know what they're getting. That, I think, is very questionable.'

Iowa City resident Stephan Arndt argued against the electronic cigarettes ban in a June letter to the council, citing the battery-powered devices as a way to increase public health.

'I appreciate the belief that smoking bans help with public health by reducing secondhand smoke. However, vapor has not been found to pose any risk for others,' Arndt said in the letter. 'Many smokers first try e-cigarettes because they can use them where they cannot smoke, however, they often become 'accidental quitters.''

However, Doug Beardsley, director of Johnson County Public Health, argued that if electronic cigarette use does reduce the use of tobacco, it is extremely minimal. Rather, Beardsley said e-cigarettes have a way of renormalizing the smoking behavior and can lead smokers to use both products.

'What we are actually seeing is dual users,' Beardsley said.

Other residents, including ex-smoker Michael Conroy, argued that the e-cigarette ban is an example of an overreaching governmental regulation.

Council member Jim Throgmorton acknowledged the concerns of personal rights, but added that the ordinance amendment does no more than the current smoke-free regulations adopted years ago.

'I don't think their liberties are being constrained,' he said.

The Johnson County Board of Supervisors already has banned the use of e-cigarettes inside county buildings and on county property, and the University of Iowa added e-cigarettes to its smoking policy earlier this year.