Councillors disagree on whether to give concessions to ‘ vapers’

COUNCILLORS DEBATED whether vaping should be treated the same as smoking when it comes to licensing premises in Sheffield.

Unlike smoking, rules on vaping vary between venues. While smoking is banned indoors, e- cigarettes are allowed in some pubs, cafes and restaurants.

The discussion was prompted when officers amended a statement of licensing policy to say vaping “isn’t unlawful, just treated in the same way as smoking”.

But Coun Otten said this was unfair. He said: “It’s my view that vaping should generally be allowed on the premises and therefore vapers don’t have to stand outside in the shelter and breathe in second- hand smoke to the detriment of their health and causing noise to the detriment of neighbours.”

Other members disagreed. Coun Mick Rooney said: “You can’t smoke on a bus and you can’t vape on a bus, similarly on a train, so I would not support an option where we are at odds with large sections of society.

“One of the reasons I’m against allowing vaping in an enclosed area is because it’s largely unstudied. Nobody really knows what the long term effects of vaping are, clearly it’s not as dangerous as smoking because a lot of the toxic by- products of smoking aren’t there. But what vaping does is ... prolong an addiction.”

NHS England say: “Research into [ vaping] is ongoing, but it seems e- cigs release negligible amounts of nicotine into the atmosphere and the limited evidence available suggests any risk from passive vaping to bystanders is small relative to tobacco cigarettes.”