DENVER – E-cigarette use is on the rise in recent years as people seek alternatives to curb their addiction to traditional cigarettes. However, it isn’t a safe alternative.
New evidence states emissions from electronic vaping devices contain and emit not only nicotine but many other potentially toxic substances harmful to the public’s health via second-hand smoke or vapors.
A bill that would include e-cigarettes and similar vaping devices under the “Colorado Clean Indoor Air Act” has its second reading in the House on Monday.
If approved, HB19-1076 would ban the use of electronic smoking devices in most indoor areas open to the public including restaurants and businesses.
This bill would also make the following changes to the Colorado Clean Indoor Air Act:
- require building entryways to extend its smoke-free radius from 15 to 25 feet
- eliminate existing exemptions for certain businesses where smoking is still permitted including Denver International Airport, designated smoking rooms in hotels and assisted living facilities
- no longer allow property owners and managers to designate smoking and non-smoking areas.
The latest amendments in this bill will begin July 1, 2019, if passed.
The General Assembly passed the “Colorado Clean Indoor Air Act” in 2006, prohibiting smoking tobacco indoors statewide.
In 2013, SB13-283 added marijuana smoking to be included in the ban.
Another bill recently introduced in the House would give the green light to legal cannabis stores to allow customers to smoke marijuana inside establishments where retail marijuana is sold if both state and local licensing authorities approve. That measure is still under consideration by a committee.
HB19-1230 would make cannabis stores an exception to the Colorado Clean Indoor Air Act.
As of 2016, 25 other states have also banned smoking in restaurants, bars, and workplaces.
