New Hanover County, in the U.S. state of North Carolina, is poised to ban vaping in several public settings.
This includes privately-owned buildings like shopping malls, child care development facilities, eateries, retail establishments, and more.
Vaping will be prohibited on county-owned property, and smoking and vaping will be further prohibited in county, city, and town government buildings, vehicles, and public grounds, unless it is a designated area for smoking.
At this time, the New Hanover County Health and Human Services Board voted to implement strict regulations on both vaping and smoking across the jurisdiction of the county. County commissioners, the lawmakers for the county government, are expected to vote on the proposed ordinance in the coming weeks. Currently, it is expected that the county commission will approve the ordinance.
Previous attempts to regulate smoking and vaping has included a ban on privately-owned sidewalks through-ways that are accessible to the public. This was turned down. Interestingly enough, the board updated the proposed ordinance to exempt therapeutic rehabilitation centers from the vaping ban as a means for patients to cope through recovery.
“The rule, as written, is a progressive approach to decrease exposure to second hand smoke, which currently is the leading preventable cause of illness and premature death in North Carolina and the nation,” notes an official description released to the county commissioners’ upcoming agenda.
November 16 is the next date for the New Hanover County Commission to meet. The vote for the ordinance is scheduled for that session.
In 2010, the state legislature for North Carolina made it illegal to smoke in most restaurants and lodging establishments like hotels, motels, and hostels.
According to the local government, this ordinance would reiterate the state law but cover vaping due to the proliferation of vaping in recent years.
Local governments in many U.S. states have the right to strictly regulating tobacco and vaping products with or without the conformity to state and federal statutes.
This is a developing story.
