Vaping will be treated as smoking under proposal before Columbus City Council

Electronic smoking devices and vaping will be treated as cigarettes and smoking under a proposal set for first reading Tuesday night, Aug. 6, before the Columbus City Council.

Kylee Jones, tobacco awareness coordinator with Healthy Communities at Columbus Regional Health made a presentation to the council in June, asking for the amendment. She says that use of e-cigarettes is skyrocketing among the youth in our community and the devices are possibly as harmful to public health as actual cigarettes.

Council passed the current smoking ordinance in 2012.

Council referred the proposal to the mayor’s ordinance advisory committee, which was accepted. It will now go before city council for an initial reading.

Council meets at 6 p.m. at city hall. You are invited.