Vaping OK in Wellington, for now
In the face of a public outcry over a potential ‘‘ban’’ on vaping, Wellington City councillors have delayed a vote on vapefree spaces.
At a city strategy committee meeting yesterday, councillors unanimously voted in a new smokefree action plan but delayed a vote on whether the plan would cover vaping until March 21.
All Wellington beaches will be designated smokefree from when daylight savings time begins in late September. The Grey St pocket square – a pedestrian area between Grey St and Lambton Quay – will also go smokefree once construction work to upgrade the area is completed in the next few months.
The smokefree parts of the plan make Wellington the seventh territorial authority in the country to make its beaches smokefree.
Councillors delayed a vote on whether vaping would be given the same treatment, fearing moves against it would send a message to the public that it was just as unsafe as smoking.
Wellington City councillor Brian Dawson said anti-vaping measures were needed to combat the public nuisance of ‘‘raspberry-flavoured steam’’.
‘‘No-one wants to walk down the street and have a big plume of vape blown into their face by the person walking in front of them, regardless of how safe it is,’’ he said.
‘‘It is about being mindful and thoughtful that you are not an island unto yourself, especially in a city like Wellington.’’
But the plan to make smokefree areas vape-free was delayed after public submissions on the issue.
Under the action plan, a new sign saying ‘‘Let’s Clear The Air’’ – targeting both smokers and vapers – was to be put up in smokefree areas.
Elizabeth Strickett, who spoke to council on behalf of National Tobacco Control Advocacy, said she supported extending smokefree restrictions to beaches but opposed making smokefree areas vapefree.
She did not want vaping ‘‘de-normalised’’ as a tool to combat smoking.
‘‘There is a lot of misinformation out there about vaping.’’
Treating vaping the same as tobacco smoking could also send a message that vaping was just as harmful, which could harm anti-smoking initiatives, Strickett said.
Vaping was 95 per cent safer than smoking, she said.