Chicago backs off e-cigarette ban
Last month, Chicago was poised to become the second city in Illinois to impose burdensome new restrictions on e-cigarettes, threatening to regulate them like tobacco products even though they contain no tobacco. But after facing strong opposition at the City Council’s joint Finance and Health Committee hearing on Monday, a much weaker version of the...
Last month, Chicago was poised to become the second city in Illinois to impose burdensome new restrictions on e-cigarettes, threatening to regulate them like tobacco products even though they contain no tobacco. But after facing strong opposition at the City Council’s joint Finance and Health Committee hearing on Monday, a much weaker version of the cigarette regulations will move forward, without a ban on “vaping” e-cigarettes in bars and restaurants.
On Dec. 9, the Finance and Health Committee discussed two ordinances that have the backing of Mayor Rahm Emanuel, and were co-sponsored by Aldermen Edward Burke and Will Burns. One would have, among other things, amended Chicago’s Clean Indoor Air Ordinance to forbid e-cigarette “smoking” in indoor public places, including restaurants and bars, and within 15 feet of a building entrance – even though e-cigarettes do not emit any smoke.
Once the committee meeting began, many aldermen expressed strong reservations about the law, questioning how restaurateurs could distinguish between e-cigarettes that contain nicotine, which would be subject to the ban and of those that do not contain nicotine, which would not be banned. Others recounted how they personally switched to e-cigarettes from tobacco cigarettes and expressed concern that the law would wrongly signal that e-cigarettes were just as dangerous.
The would-be regulators’ retreat is a refreshing victory against Chicago’s notoriously overbearing nanny state. While the ordinance’s proponents may be saddened and frustrated they can’t control the personal decisions of other people, everyone else should be relieved that freedom to choose surprisingly survived another City Council committee meeting session – for now, at least.
Unfortunately, the second ordinance, which will move on to a vote by the whole City Council, bans the sale of flavored tobacco products within 500 feet of schools. Of course, it’s already illegal to sell those products to minors, and violators are already subject fines. So it’s hardly rational or fair to business owners or consumers to further restrict the sale of an otherwise legal product to adults.
With the e-cigarette debate apparently abating for the moment, perhaps Chicago can turn its attention to the actual problems facing its citizens instead of putting an alternative to much more harmful, traditional cigarettes further out of smokers’ use and reach.