New York Court Upholds Vaping Ban in Public Places

FLATIRON, NY — "Vaping" in public places in New York City will remain illegal, at least for the time being.

A New York state appeals court on Tuesday upheld a New York City law that includes e-cigarettes in smoking bans in public places such as bars, restaurants and beaches.

In a unanimous 10-page decision written by Justice David Saxe, the court said the plaintiffs—New York City C.L.A.S.H. (Citizens Lobbying Against Smoker Harassment) and Russell Wishtart, the host of a popular radio show about vaping—did not have a constitutional basis for challenging the ban.

The decision is the latest in a long battle in NYC, which began in December 2013, when then-Mayor Michael Bloomberg signed Local Law 152, which added vaping to the ban on smoking cigarettes in public spaces, one day before his last in office.

In May 2015, a lower court ruled against C.L.A.S.H and Wishtart, who had challenged the law, and on Tuesday, the appellate court upheld that decision.

Advocates for restrictions on vaping say that though e-cigarettes don't use tobacco, they provide nicotine, which may be dangerous. And, they argue, vaping can lead young people to start smoking tobacco cigarettes.

The Center for Disease Control (CDC) just released a report on e-cigarette use among middle and high school students, in which they argued that "Nicotine content in e-cigarettes is of public health concern because exposure to nicotine is the main cause of tobacco product dependence[...]and nicotine exposure during adolescence, a critical period for brain development, can cause addiction, can harm brain development, and could lead to sustained tobacco product use among youths."

But many in the public health community and vaping community challenge this narrative. They frame vaping as gateway in the other direction—a harm reduction tool to help smokers of regular tobacco cigarettes quit.

Edward Paltzik of the Joshpe Law Group, which represented the plaintiffs, voiced the opinion that e-cigarettes are a different product than combustibles, and should not be lumped in with them.

"In essence," he told the New York Law Journal, "the Smoke Free Air Act has one subject, which is smoke free air. Electronic cigarettes are a product that does not emit smoke."

Image via Creative Commons.