E-cigarettes should not be included at this time in the Capital Regional District’s ban on smoking in playgrounds, parks and public squares, says the committee examining the issue.
Vancouver Island chief medical health officer Dr. Richard Stanwick had recommended directors consider including the electronic vaping devices as it moves to expand the Clean Air Bylaw to ban smoking from playgrounds, parks and public squares.
Stanwick worries the heavily marketed electronic cigarettes could be a gateway to nicotine addiction, especially for young people. The devices produce vapour by heating a flavoured liquid, which can contain nicotine. While e-cigarettes are legal to sell in Canada, Health Canada says nicotine-based liquids are not approved for sale in Canada.
But members of the planning, transportation and protective services committee said that since the effects of e-cigarettes are still unknown, including them in the bylaw would probably be premature. Some wondered whether the regulation of e-cigarettes even falls within the CRD’s jurisdiction.
Nancy Falconer, of the Canadian Cancer Society, urged directors on Wednesday to take the opportunity to include e-cigarettes in the ban until research has shown they are safe for use and pose no health risk to non-users.
“We’re running the risk of re-normalizing smoking in our society,” she said.
“We know that they’re not proven as a reliable smoking cessation tool, and, in fact, we know that a lot of youth are using e-cigarettes. They’re not using them to quit smoking. It’s their initiation into smoking.”
Victoria Mayor Dean Fortin said he understands the concerns about the e-cigarettes, but without definitive evidence about the danger to others from vaping devices, he wondered whether the CRD even has authority to act.
“As much as we may not like the fact that smoking causes individual cancer, our authority actually arises from that health damage to people from second-hand [smoke],” Fortin said.
“I’m not sure it’s really within our authority to ban the electric devices — not that I’m happy with them.”
Saanich Coun. Vic Derman agreed. “Since the evidence [about e-cigarettes] at this point is unclear, I would agree, again, that we run the risk of muddying the waters, putting the bylaw open to challenges about authority and all sorts of things of that nature,” Derman said.
Metchosin Mayor John Ranns argued against introducing a bylaw when there is no reasonable plan to enforce it, especially in remote areas.
“If we know we’re not going to enforce it, all we’re doing is setting an expectation with the public that we can’t deliver on. Haven’t we done enough of that already?” Ranns said.
The committee supported the CRD staff recommendation that the board give the first two readings to the bylaw that would ban smoking in all parks, playgrounds, playing fields, public squares and bus stops and expand the existing three-metre no-smoking zone at building doorways, windows and air intakes to seven metres.
There will be at least one public open house. If the bylaw is passed, CRD staff are suggesting enforcement begin April 1, 2015.
