City may ban e-cigarettes in government spaces

Chewing tobacco in parks, other facilities also targeted.

The city of Marietta is considering expanding its anti-smoking ordinance to include the newest way users can take a hit of nicotine.

The City Council’s Judi- cial Legislative Committee recently reviewed a pro- posal that would outlaw the use of e-cigarettes, as well as chewing tobacco, in parks and at other government facilities.

Committee members were briefed with a presentation from Lisa Crossman, deputy director of the Cobb & Doug- las Public Health Depart- ment. Crossman said her organization recommended the city update its ordinance to reflect the current lan- guage surrounding nicotine use. She noted entities such as SunTrust Park, The Bat- tery Atlanta and the city of Kennesaw have implememed similar rules outlawing the use of e-cigarettes. "The inclusion would fur-ther eliminate tobacco-re-lated litter and the expo-sure to secondhand e-ciga-rene vapor, which may con-tain harmful products that can be inhaled by another individual," she said in a statement. "Additionally, because youth vaping has reached epidemic propor-tions in Georgia and the U.S., it is recommended to elim- irate this practice in places where youth congregate." According to the Centers for Disease Control and Pre-vention, most e-cigarettes contain nicotine, a highly addictive drug that can harm still-developing brains. The National Institute on Drug Abuse said in December that 37 percent of high school seniors reported using e-cig-arettes in a single year, corn-pared to 2Z8 percent in 2017. Along with Kennesaw, Cobb County, Smyrna and Powder Springs all have pro- hibitions on tobacco use in their facilities or on their properties.

Marietta City Manager Bill Bruton said the current smoking ban encompasses city parks and buildings. It also covers parks around the city, including Glover Park in the heart of Mari- etta Square.

“When there is a problem, individuals are informed of the code prohibition and they comply,” he said.

City Councilman Andy Morris, who chairs the com- mittee, said there was unanimous support to move the proposal forward to consider by the entire elected body.

“To me it looks like it’s probably going to pass,” he added.

While he said he was in favor of the ban, Morris said the city council will have to figure out the enforcement factor if the new rules were implemented.

“It’s really hard to enforce it if you don’t have an officer around there,” he said.