Petal bans indoor vaping, residents speak out

Within the month, electronic smoking devices could be banned from indoor use in Petal.

The Petal Board of Aldermen recently voted unanimously to pass an amendment making it illegal to use such devices in public buildings.

The item was on the board's agenda at Tuesday's regular meeting, but also had been discussed at a previous meeting.

"We're just trying to keep pace with the technology that is out there," said Ward 4 Alderman Brad Amacker, who sponsored the amendment. "We already have the ban on tobacco cigarettes, so it only seemed prudent to update the ordinance to reflect current smoking devices."

Electronic smoking devices are defined in the amendment as "any product containing or delivering nicotine or any other substance intended for human consumption that can be used by a person to simulate smoking through inhalation of vapor or aerosol from the product. The term includes any such device, whether manufactured, distributed, marketed, or sold as an e-cigarette, e-cigar, e-pipe, e-hookah, or vape pen, or under any other product name or descriptor."

While electronic smoking devices have been advertised as only emitting water vapor, Amacker said he had research that shows water is not an ingredient in the "vape juice" and the by-product of the devices was actually an aerosol mixture of hazardous chemicals.

Mayor Hal Marx said he could not put his support into the bill, citing his belief that government should not be the entity that controls how businesses operate.

"If the business owner wants to be the one to decide to ban the e-cigarettes, that's fine," Marx said.

"I just can't support the government being the one to do it. I don't support it on the federal level, so how can I support it at the municipal level? When you put too many regulations on a business, they become bogged down and suffocated by them."

However, during the aldermen's discussion, the board asked Petal residents attending the meeting if they had anything to say. One said other cities in Mississippi already have bans in place.

"I used to live in Tupelo, and it's already banned there," said the resident. "Then I moved back here where it's not and I'm standing in line at a store and the man standing behind me was blowing smoke at my child's head. I asked one of the employees to do something about it and she said she couldn't because the city doesn't ban it."

Marx said he plans to veto the amendment. If five of the seven aldermen again vote in favor of the amendment at the next board meeting, the veto will be overruled and the ordinance will go on to include a ban on electronic smoking devices.

Some residents and business owners say they are planning to attend the meeting to have their opinions heard about the issue.

"I started using an e-cig back in February," said Petal resident Christian Barker, 21. "I smoke it almost every day now and it has been the only thing to help me quit smoking (tobacco cigarettes)."

According to a study conducted by the U.S. National Library of Medicine at the National Institutes of Health, electronic cigarettes are not as harmful as tobacco cigarettes.

"Existing evidence indicates that (e-cigarette) use is by far a less harmful alternative to smoking," the study said. "There is no tobacco and no combustion involved in (e-cigarette) use; therefore, regular 'vapers' may avoid several harmful toxic chemicals that are typically present in the smoke of tobacco cigarettes. Indeed, some toxic chemicals are released in the (e-cigarette) vapor as well, but their levels are substantially lower compared with tobacco smoke, and in some cases, such as nitrosamines, are comparable with the amounts found in pharmaceutical nicotine products."

In the June 2 meeting, Amacker said that the variety of flavors the "vape juice" comes in could be a way to attract children.

"I feel that the various flavors is just a way of the manufacturers to produce different things that people may like," Barker said. "The 'flavors attract kids' argument could be used for anything from the newest Mike's Hard Lemonade that is advertised everywhere on TV to different flavored snuff and dip."

The ordinance will only impact the City of Petal, but there could come a time when other are municipalities, including Hattiesburg, may hold conversations about similar legislation.

"We have not discussed that issue yet, but I am sure we might have to address it in the future," said Hattiesburg Mayor Johnny DuPree.

And Hattiesburg business owners may feel the impact of Petal's amended smoking ordinance.

"I do not live in Petal, but a lot of my customers live in Petal, so this is a concern for me," said Bill Wikstrom, owner of Vaporized, a vapor and electronic cigarette shop located in Hattiesburg.

Wikstrom said he believes he is doing a service to the community with his business by giving smokers an alternative to tobacco products.

"I have a box near the door where I encourage people to dispose of their tobacco products as their first step to quitting," Wikstrom said. "Since I opened in November 2013, I have had to dump that box so many times. I've had doctors tell me they would rather see their patients with an e-cig than with a regular cigarette."

Regardless, some people are skeptical, and believe that no matter what the research shows now, there is no way to learn the long-term effects of electronic cigarettes because they are relatively new.

"We really don't know the long-term effects of things such as alternative medicines or experimental drug therapies, yet they still get results," said Hattiesburg resident and electronic cigarette user Will Stokes, 22.

"Why should vaping and e-cigs be labeled as dangerous when they are getting results here and now?"

Wikstrom and Barker plan to attend the meeting at 6 p.m. July 7 at City Hall to speak to the Petal board and give their feelings as to why the amendment should be rescinded.