The Champaign Urbana Public Health District (CUPHD) is campaigning for laws that would ban e-cigarettes from public places, including any private business which is open to the public. Three CUPHD representatives gave a thirty minute presentation at the Urbana City Council meeting tonight, urging the Council to pass legislation which would ban vaping and create fines for violations.
Interim Director of Wellness & Health Promotion Whitney Greger, Health Educator Kami Lafoon, and Health Educator Anna Johnson of the CUPHD gave a slide show presentation, and spoke about the dangers of vaping.
The trio claimed that vaping released harmful chemicals and heavy metals into the air, which are harmful to bystanders. They also claimed that use of e-cigarettes in public places encourages children to start vaping, which, according to Greger, is already an “epidemic among youth”. CUPHD wants to see e-cigarettes banned to the same extent as regular cigarettes.
“We think it’s important as a public health standpoint to have uniformity in laws and treat e-Cigarettes the same way that we treat combustible tobacco products.”
Most of the Urbana Council appeared interested in the e-cigarette ban, but some doubts were expressed. Ward 2 Alderman Christopher Evans said that it was not his impression that vaping in public was nearly as pervasive as the CUPHD employees had represented. Evans said that in his experience, E-cigarette use in bars, restaurants, and stores is very rare, and that he hasn’t received any complaints from his constituents about vaping.
Evans: “It feels like we’re fixing something that ain’t broke. I’ll take your word that there is a problem and we need to address it, but frankly I don’t see it ever, day to day.”
When asked, Greger did admit that “we don’t actually have any current data on public support” for banning e-cigarettes.
The fact that the CUPHD is campaigning for local governing bodies to pass ordinances is notable, since it suggests that they may have learned some lessons from their prior follies. In 2020, the CUPHD tried to create their own ordinances and fines in regards to mask mandates, but no such power is granted to them by the state to create their own laws.
Greger said that CUPHD’s suggested tactic is to make business owners responsible for the actions of members of the public who enter their establishment. According to Greger, if a member of the public was discovered vaping in a particular establishment, CUPHD would perform an investigation and issue citations against the business owner.