Lincoln's City Council banned vaping inside public places and in the workplace Monday and rejected a measure to delay implementation so vape shops could seek an exemption.Â
On a 7-0 vote, council members added e-cigarettes to the city's existing ordinance banning smoking indoors. The new city regulation takes effect in two weeks.
"This is a small change," City Attorney Jeff Kirkpatrick told the council. "It’s not putting them (vape shops) out of business."
The ordinance change marks the first public health action in Lincoln in response to national concerns about e-cigarettes and a series of vaping-related deaths and hospitalizations because of respiratory illnesses.
Many restaurants, bars and works sites already prohibit vaping inside, and this ordinance formalizes those policies, said David Humm, health promotion manager for the Lincoln-Lancaster County Health Department.
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The Lincoln-Lancaster County Board of Health introduced the ordinance, and health department officials argued e-cigarette products would have been added to the city's indoor smoking ban in 2004 if the use of vaping devices had been as prevalent.Â
Work safety, cancer prevention and heart health advocates testified in support of the ordinance.Â
Sarah Linden, president of the Nebraska Vape Vendors Association, argued the ordinance conflates the dangers of smoking cigarettes with vaping, which is less harmful and a safe measure to help people quit smoking.Â
Linden, whose company, Generation V E-Cigarettes and Vape Bar, has three Lincoln locations, asked the city to exempt vape shops at a minimum.Â
She said the businesses would be harmed financially if they can't let customers try flavors before buying them and if staff can't demonstrate how to safely use e-cigarette devices.Â
Monday, Councilman Roy Christensen tried to delay the implementation from two weeks to two months so the vape shops could adjust.Â
A two-month delay would have also given the vape product retailers time to explore and formally propose a legal framework to exempt them from the ban, Christensen said.Â
The health board and health department didn't support exempting any businesses from the ban, citing their concerns that secondhand exposure to the aerosol in e-cigarettes isn't safe.Â
E-cigarette aerosol can contain harmful and potentially harmful substances, including nicotine, ultrafine particles, flavoring such as diacetyl — a chemical linked to a serious lung disease, cancer-causing chemicals, volatile organic compounds and heavy metals such as nickel, tin and lead, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Councilmen Bennie Shobe and Richard Meginnis voted with Christensen on his amendment to delay, but it fell one vote short.Â
People who vape inside a business or indoor public place or business proprietors who allow vaping indoors face up to a $100 fine for a first offense.
Lincoln is the second city in Nebraska to ban vaping indoors after Grand Island enacted its ban in September.
The two were the first Nebraska cities to ban smoking in public indoor places in 2004 before a statewide ban went into effect four years later.Â
In a news release, the American Cancer Society Action Network applauded the vote as a way to protect the rights of the public to breathe smoke-free air.
"The science is clear — there is no risk-free level of exposure to secondhand smoke," the statement said. "Smoke-free laws are the most economic and effective way to protect the public, and it is a major victory that the city of Lincoln is taking this huge step for the health of their citizens."
City/county reporter Riley Johnson's memorable stories from 2019
Riley Johnson's most memorable: 'I was that stupid'
Sometimes as a reporter you get lucky, and people decide to talk to you like this story where two people chastised in a state audit for wasting tax dollars explained their sides.
Riley Johnson's most memorable: Taxpayer gets $26M reduction
This story brought to light the year’s largest property valuation deduction for Kawasaki Motors, which was buried in property records.
Riley Johnson's most memorable: Spider-Man devil horns
This viral column drew national attention and was my most-read story of the year, and focused a concerned citizen’s confusion over a work of public art near the Lincoln Children’s Zoo.
Riley Johnson's most memorable: PTSD service dog fight
I profiled a former Lincoln paramedic’s battle with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and how he fought with the city to return to work.Â
Riley Johnson's most memorable: Wheel tax stalls
This story recounted how a consequential decision made without a vote that stymied the Lancaster County’s attempt to find new money to fund road improvements.