A citizen advisory group has recommended that the City of Dallas follow other major Texas cities with a ban on vaping in public spaces in the name of public health.
The city’s Environmental Commission has recommended adopting a policy restricting the use of e-cigarettes, citing a “correlation between vaping aerosol exposure and negative health effects for vulnerable populations,” said Candace Thompson, chair of the commission’s environmental health committee.
In August, the commission unanimously approved a recommendation to expand the city’s 2016 smoking ban to include the prohibition of vaping of nicotine and non-nicotine products in most public spaces, with a few exceptions, including bars, restaurants and parks controlled by private partners.
Dallas City Councilwoman Kathy Stewart, who chairs the parks, trails and environment committee, said she saw the recommendation in a memo. But her committee has not discussed nor voted on the proposed ban, which would be required before City Council action.
Vaping was banned in Austin in 2017 and in Houston in 2022.
Despite regulatory hurdles from the Federal Drug Administration and a patchwork of bans across the nation, sales of e-cigarettes have climbed steadily following marketing practices that have been criticized for targeting teens. More than 1 in 10 young people use vaping products, according to a 2021 National Health Interview Survey.
Vaping devices gained popularity worldwide in the 2000s among smokers trying to quit traditional cigarettes or other tobacco products, which have been linked to cancer and other negative health outcomes.
Sam Kovacs, a 32-year-old tech worker, moved out of Dallas recently but returns to visit friends and attend concerts in the city.
He started smoking traditional cigarettes in college but switched to vaping for the convenience and supposed reduced health risks. Then he heard on the news of potentially harmful effects from ultrafine particles that could be toxic when ingested.
“All I knew was that it felt better than cigarettes,” Kovacs said. But then he heard stories of “popcorn lung,” and other respiratory illness as public health researchers published more studies suggesting a link between the practice to heart and lung disease and premature death. Kovacs said he supports the ban in principle but expects hurdles in enforcing it.
Joey Skirchak, manager of Uptown Smoke & Vape in Oak Lawn, says vaping in public spaces should be governed by a person’s etiquette and not necessarily a public ban, especially one based on what he calls a misinformation campaign from the tobacco industry.
“Vaping itself has never killed anyone,” he said. Skirchak personally uses e-cigarettes, calling them a reliable, healthy alternative for smoking cigarettes because vapes are non combustible and don’t contain cancer-causing tar.
Vaping deaths, hospitalizations
In 2019, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention tracked an epidemic of more than 2,800 hospitalizations and 68 deaths related to a vitamin E acetate byproduct in illicit e-cigarettes, which prompted a public health response with bans and educational campaigns warning young adults of the risks.
The spike in reported lung injuries gripped the country and Dallas County reported a swell of hospitalizations and a few deaths related to the epidemic. A Dallas County teen with underlying health conditions died in 2020 from complications caused by vaping use, according to the county.
But Skirchak said the outbreak was linked to black market products, not ones sold on his shelves. The public scare has only added to the misinformation about vaping, he said, including the supposed dangers of secondhand exposure.
A study published in Preventative Medicine this month from the Texas A&M University School of Public Health has suggested a link between vaping and an increased risk of asthma in adolescents who never smoked traditional tobacco products. The researchers also found evidence that children with depression had a higher likelihood of e-cigarette use.
Under a new Texas law, students face a mandatory suspension and placement in an alternative education program if they are caught vaping in school. In the past, districts had discretion on student punishment related to vaping.
According to a May memo from Thompson, the environmental commission’s aim with banning the practice is to protect vulnerable populations, like children and those with underlying health conditions, from secondhand and thirdhand exposure to potentially toxic particles.
“Volatile organic compounds and ultrafine particles including flavoring, nicotine, and gas compounds have been found in e-cigarette aerosols,” Thompson said in the memo. “These aerosols have been proven to impair indoor air quality.”
