No "Need" To Know "Health Effects" Of E-Cigs, Issue Ban Regardless Says County Commissioner

CLEVELAND, Tenn. — The Bradley County Commission is preparing to consider imposing restrictions on the smoking of e-cigarettes on county properties where tobacco use now is prohibited.

Commissioner Charlotte Peak-Jones, who is sponsoring the resolution, said it's being drafted and reviewed by the county attorney.

"We don't know all the health effects of e-cigarette vapor yet, but we don't need to wait to address this issue," she said. "I know I don't want to have to breathe all those chemicals, and I don't think the public should either."

E-cigs do not produce a combustible "smoke" like lit cigarettes, and they do not contain tar. Health groups are divided over whether "vaping" is a good alternative to smoking, or if it's trading one harmful habit for another.

Supporters such as Turner Ames, who works at Vapor Tonics in Chattanooga, say vapor products are not tobacco products.

"I feel much better, much healthier than I did when I smoked," Ames told the Times Free Press in March. His boss, shop owner Ben Connally, said many of his patrons are former smokers.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has called for a long-term study of e-cigarettes' impact on health.

"Until there is infallible proof that e-cigarettes do not pose a health risk to the public, I believe we should ban their use like we do for tobacco," Peak-Jones said. "If it turns out there are no risks associated with them, we can change the restrictions."

[...]the mayor's office has not received any complaints about people using e-cigarettes in county buildings.