Vaping is likely to become illegal soon on most county-owned property in Cumberland County.
The Board of Commissioners unanimously gave preliminary approval on Thursday to an ordinance to ban vaping on county government property. It is set to be considered for a final vote at the commissioners’ Oct. 21 meeting, commissioners’ chairman Glenn Adams said on Friday.
If approved on Oct. 21, the ban would take effect immediately. Violators could be fined $50. County employees who break the rule could be disciplined.
The ban is to protect youth and adults from health risks associated with vaping, County Commissioner Veronica Jones told CityView.
Just as cigarettes can give bystanders secondhand smoke when they are near someone who is smoking, the Environmental Protection Agency says people who are near someone who is vaping can breathe in the aerosol secondhand from the vape pens or e-cigarettes.
Cumberland County in 1993 banned smoking within 25 feet of most county buildings, then in 2014 expanded the ban to cover the buildings and their surrounding grounds, The Fayetteville Observer reported in 2014.
The commissioners early this year enacted restrictions on vape and hemp shops. They prohibited new shops from opening near other vape and hemp shops, near schools, childcare centers, public parks, and several other types of places.
Vaping has become popular as an alternative to cigarette smoking. Vape pens, sometimes called “e-cigarettes” or “electronic cigarettes,” are battery powered. Users inhale a heated liquid aerosol from them that can be infused with flavorings and nicotine. Some people use vape pens with THC or marijuana-infused liquids or materials. The chemicals reach the bloodstream through the lungs, similar to how nicotine does via traditional smoking.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control says the fluids used in vape pens may contain cancer-causing chemicals, heavy metals, particles that can be inhaled deep into the lungs, volatile organic compounds and a chemical called diacetyl that is linked to lung disease.
The vaping ban would apply to the buildings and grounds of the county courthouse, the public libraries, the Department of Social Services, E. Newton Smith Center (which houses the county elections office), the Law Enforcement Center, the Detention Center, the Health Department and other county-owned facilities. It also would apply to county-owned vehicles.
Exempt from the proposed ordinance are county-owned parks and the county-owned Crown Complex, which includes the Crown Coliseum, Expo Center, Arena and Theatre. These facilities have also been exempt from the county’s smoking ban. The proposed vaping ordinance says the Fayetteville-Cumberland Parks and Recreation Advisory Commission may regulate vaping in the parks, and the Cumberland County Civic Center Commission may regulate vaping at the Crown.
The Crown bans smoking inside its buildings and within 25 feet of the entrances.
The Civic Center Commission plans to adopt the county ordinance for the Crown Complex, County Attorney Rick Moorefield told the commissioners on Thursday.
Senior reporter Paul Woolverton can be reached at 910-261-4710 and pwoolverton@cityviewnc.com.
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