After New York, Chicago will become the second major city to ban people from smoking electronic cigarettes from most indoor public places.
The ordinance, backed by Mayor Rahm Emanuel and passed on Wednesday in a 45-4 vote, prohibits people from using e-cigarettes in restaurants, bars and other public places in the city.
According to the Smoke-Free Illinois Act, adults smoking e-cigarettes will need to step out and maintain a distance of at least 15 feet from any entrance to a public building. The ordinance aims to put a check on the sale of the devices, especially to minors. Under the ordinance, retailers will have to sell e-cigarettes from behind the counter so that its accessibility is negligible for minors.
"I do not think we should wait on the FDA," Mayor Emanuel said. "Adults' ability to get the product won't be restricted. Children's ability to get the product will be restricted."
Emanuel has taken a clear stand against the tobacco usage in the city and has increased the city's cigarette tax as part of his 2014 budget.
According to United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), use of e-cigarettes among middle and high school students have doubled from 2011 to 2012. The report said 80 percent of e-cigarette users also tried cigarettes.
E-cigarettes are battery-powered devices that stimulates tobacco smoking. The cartridges used in these are available in variety of flavors making it attractive to children.
Emanuel also said the tobacco companies were looking for new ways to increase profits by targeting children.
"Tobacco use in this country has flattened, so the tobacco companies are trying to figure out how to get more users so they're targeting our most vulnerable population which is our children. Any one of us are here to protect our children," he said.
Opponents of the ordinance argue that e-cigarette prevents children from becoming addicted to smoking. Nevertheless, the ordinance has the support of the health community who believe that the ill effects of cigarettes and e-cigarettes are identical.
"E-cigarettes cause almost all the things that cigarettes cause," said Dr. Arvin Goyal of Institute of Medicine. "We found out they cause disease, they cause tremendous addiction, they even cause passive disease."
