The Columbus City Council voted Tuesday to approve an amended smoking ordinance that prohibits the use of electronic smoking devices, or e-cigarettes and vape pens, in places where smoking is banned in the city.
Council members voted 7-0 to approve the ordinance change, but the ban won’t take effect for two months after local vape shop owners asked council members to exempt vape shops from falling under the ban.
As currently written, the ordinance adds the definition of an electronic smoking device and amends the existing definition of “smoking” to include electronic smoking devices. It does not, however, exempt vape shops from the ban. According to city officials, Columbus has three vape shops within city limits.
Under the city’s municipal code, smoking is prohibited in all premises, structures, facilities, establishments and stores listed as an exception under Indiana Code 7.1-5-12-5(a)(l)-(5), (7), and (9)-(10), all private clubs defined under Indiana Code 7.1-5-12-5(a)(6) and all bars and/or taverns defined under Indiana Code 7.1-5-12-5(a)(8).
Current state law, written in 2012, exempts smoke shops and tobacco stores from the smoking statute. Vape shops have not been specifically addressed in state law, yet.
“Without an exemption, my business would essentially close,” said John Jones, owner of Hilltop Vape Shop, 2300 Central Ave. “All those customers would go to very nearby communities to meet their needs. Vapor shops in surrounding communities allow folks to use and to try the various materials we have there. If we can’t use a vapor device within our establishment, customers will go where they can try these things and see what they want to use.”
The council voted 6-1 to include a 60-day implementation period to allow the city’s Ordinance Review Committee to revise the ordinance and add vape shops to the list of exemptions.
Councilman Dascal Bunch voted down the amendment. Bunch said every time the council tails something, it becomes a bigger issue and “never turns out the way it should.”
The council must approve any changes to the ordinance proposed by the committee at or before its Oct. 15 council meeting before the 60-day period is up, or the ordinance will go into effect as is.
For more on this story, see Thursday’s Republic.
