Spokane health district bans vaping in public places beginning July 1

Vaping will be prohibited in public places and work sites in Spokane County beginning July 1.

The Spokane Regional Health District’s board of directors voted unanimously this week to make Spokane County the sixth in Washington to restrict vaping in public. The board made an exception for retail vape shops.

In voting for the prohibition, health district board members said they were concerned about bystanders’ exposure to nicotine and other harmful chemicals in secondhand vapor and the rising use of e-cigarettes by teens.

“In public health, we are worried that vaping devices will re-glamorize smoking, undermining the changing social norms that have led to sharp declines in tobacco use in recent years,” Dr. Joel McCullough, the district’s interim health officer, said in a news release.

Twenty-six percent of high school sophomores surveyed in Spokane County in 2014 said they had used a vaping device in the past 30 days.

The Spokane County vaping restrictions apply to the same places where smoking is banned: buildings and vehicles open to the public, places of employment and outdoor venues such as restaurant patios. Vaping is also prohibited within 25 feet of building entrances and windows that open.

Dozens of people testified at an earlier health district hearing on restricting vaping in public. While teachers and health professionals supported an outright ban, retailers urged the health district to create an exemption in vape shops for individuals 18 and older.

“That’s really what we were fighting for,” Jeff Benjamin, manager of Smokin’ Legal Vaperz, said Friday. “People don’t need to be vaping in Applebee’s or at the mall.”

Smokin’ Legal Vaperz has four locations. The exemption preserves store employees’ ability to help customers troubleshoot problems with vaping devices and sample e-juice products, Benjamin said.

The exemption for sampling products and testing vape devices in licensed retail outlets is the result of recent state legislation. Senate Bill 1628 was signed into law last week by Gov. Jay Inslee.

The new state law is the result of 18 months of lobbying and negotiations among health officials, legislators and the retail vaping industry, said Joe Baba, president of the nonprofit Washington Vape Association.

Vape store owners preferred a statewide approach to regulations, rather than a mosaic of different county regulations. The resulting law accomplishes that, he said.

Baba said the law protects public health and restricts minors from buying and using vaping products, while still giving adults the choice to try out devices and sample products in licensed retail stores. E-juice samples don’t contain nicotine, so there’s no secondhand nicotine exposure in retail stores, he said.

The new state law requires vaping retailers to follow regulations similar to those for sales of cigarettes and other tobacco products, including carding minors. Products must have child-resistant packaging, warning labels and disclosure of nicotine content.

The state law also prohibits use of vaping devices at child care centers and schools, on school buses and at playgrounds when children under the age of 12 are present.

After July 1, Spokane Regional Health District staff will respond to complaints about vaping in public and conduct random inspections. Violations can result in $100 civil fines and escalating reinspection fees for companies that don’t comply.