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Appellate Division Upholds Ban on E-Cigarettes in Public Place

New York City’s ban on e-cigarettes have was upheld by the Appellate Division.  New York City Citizens Lobbying Against Smoker Harassment (CLASH) filed a lawsuit arguing that New York City’s 2013 ban on vaping in public places (Local Rule 152) violated the New York State Constitution by impermissibly lumping smoking traditional cigarettes and smoking electronic cigarettes into the same law. The Appellate Division disagreed with CLASH and upheld the law banning vaping in public places. 

The Court provided, in pertinent part:

“Before enacting this law, the City Council held a series of hearings, at which it heard testimony from, among others, public health advocates, representatives of electronic cigarette manufacturers, and members of the public, including plaintiff Wishtart and the founder of plaintiff NYC CLASH.  The Committee report issued following the hearings explained that electronic cigarettes are devices that contain a liquid containing nicotine, as well as varying compositions of flavorings, propylene glycol, glycerin, and other ingredients, that is heated into a vapor that the user inhales.  Although they have been marketed as a safer alternative to traditional cigarettes since they were introduced in the U.S. in 2006, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control have expressed concern about e- cigarettes’ safety for the user and non-user, samples having tested positive for carcinogens, as well as the concern that they may lead to the use of other nicotine products by young people (see https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/stateandcommunity/pdfs/cdc-osh-information-on-e-cigarettes-november-2015.pdf; https://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm506676.htm#safer [last accessed 12/12/16]).”

A link to the decision can be found here.