Ban public vaping

The Ontario government was on the right track with its plan to stiffen the Smoke-Free Ontario Act and ban the use of e-cigarettes wherever tobacco smoking isn’t allowed starting on Jan. 1.

It would have meant e-cigarette smokers couldn’t “light” up and blow clouds of vapour about in workplaces, restaurants, bars, movie theatres and other public places.

That was a smart move for two reasons. It would prevent people from being irritated from vapours released by e-cigarette liquids laced with everything from peppermint to nicotine. And it would have answered concerns that the use of the devices in public spaces “normalizes” smoking behaviour after decades of public health campaigns dedicated to making it socially unacceptable.

Now, unfortunately, Associate Health Minister Dipika Damerla has postponed the Jan. 1ban on vaping in public spaces. She should rethink her decision.

The delay stems from the fact that the government still hasn’t resolved whether or not to allow medical marijuana users to vape or smoke in public spaces. The minister says she wants to bring in all regulations concerning vaping at the same time.

That’s a bad move. The public space vaping ban, coupled with a ban on the sale of e-cigs to those under 19 (which is still slated to go ahead on New Year’s Day), had been welcomed by such wellinformed groups as the Canadian Cancer Society, the Ontario Medical Association, the Heart and Stroke Foundation, the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health and Toronto Public Health.

And while the minister says she will move to restrict the places e-cigarettes can be used “early in the new year,” one can only wonder whether she will be able to fulfill that promise if it hinges on resolving the ultra-controversial issue of whether medical marijuana users should be able to “light” up e-cigarettes or joints anytime, anywhere.

Indeed, the government’s initial acknowledgement in November that it planned to allow medical marijuana users to smoke or “vape” in public spaces was so badly received that it was withdrawn within a day for further study.

Regardless of the issue of second-hand smoke or vapours from cannabis, no one knows what the harmful effects of e-cigarettes might be, either to users of the devices or those exposed to secondhand vapours. Both the provincial and federal governments are funding research into the health effects.

In the meantime, the ban on vaping in public spaces should not be delayed. It was the right decision when it was made, and it’s still the right thing to do.