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Cary council asks staff to review updating smoke-free ordinance to include vaping and e-cigarettes
Summary
Following presentations by the American Heart Association, the council unanimously referred a staff report to update Cary's 2007 smoking ordinance to cover vaping and e-cigarettes, with the stated goals of protecting children and aligning Wake County rules.
Cary, N.C. — After testimony from the American Heart Association and a discussion about public-health impacts, the Cary Town Council on April 16 unanimously voted to refer an update to the town's smoke-free ordinance to staff for recommendation.
Katie Balsa, senior director for the American Heart Association in the Triangle, told the council that clean air is a foundational investment for community health and urged the town to adopt the DHHS tobacco-free places model. "There is no safe level of secondhand exposure to smoke, and that does include e-cigarettes," she said.
Emma Kate Burns, director of government relations for the American Heart Association in North Carolina, urged immediate adoption of the DHHS model to modernize Cary's 2007 ordinance and to protect public places from both smoke and secondhand aerosol. "Permitting indoor smoking and vaping in our public places sends the message that tobacco use is socially acceptable," she said.
Mayor Pro Tem Bush, who brought the item forward, said the goal is to align Cary with DHHS and neighboring jurisdictions such as Raleigh and Wake County in order to protect youth and reduce confusion for residents. Council member Michelle Craig described the proposal as a small but meaningful step that sends a public-health message: she cited family experience with lung cancer as part of her support.
Council made no ordinance change at the meeting. The referral asks staff to prepare options consistent with state law and Wake County public-health guidance and to return with recommended language and implementation considerations.
Next steps: Staff will prepare and present a report with recommended ordinance language and implementation options at a future council meeting; council did not set a firm deadline in the referral vote.
Context: Cary's existing smoking ordinance dates from 2007, before widespread e-cigarette sales; advocates and councilmembers said the update would reduce exposure and help normalize smoke-free public places.
