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Council asks city attorney to draft ordinance expanding non-smoking rule to include vaping
Summary
Staff told council that most peer cities have added vaping to non-smoking rules and the city attorney said there are no legal barriers; council directed staff to draft a proposed ordinance, with exceptions possible for businesses whose primary activity is smoking or hookah.
Councilmember Galante urged the Arlington City Council to broaden the city's non-smoking ordinance to include vaping devices, saying many peer cities already prohibit vaping in public spaces.
Mary Jin C. Topol, planning and development services director, told the council staff found no legal reasons to exclude vaping and recalled vaping language had been considered earlier and removed when comparative data were limited. Health services manager Amy Rockhill said ordinance language could be written to capture different electronic nicotine-delivery systems and hookah devices if council wanted that scope.
"I think it's time for Arlington to include the vaping prohibition for vaping in public spaces," Councilmember Galante said.
City Attorney (speaker 12) said he found "no legal concerns" with broadening the regulation and noted that adopting the measure may prompt political pushback from some businesses, but would be legally permissible and consistent with actions by other cities.
Councilmembers discussed exceptions and affirmative defenses for businesses where smoking or hookah is the predominant activity; staff said existing ordinance frameworks often include such exceptions. Several councilmembers supported asking the city attorney's office to draft a proposed ordinance and bring it back to council for review.
What's next: the city attorney's office will draft proposed ordinance language that broadens the definition of smoking to include ENDS (electronic nicotine-delivery systems) and related devices, and staff will return with the draft for council consideration.
