Ontario urged to ban vaping in public

A report by health officials in Toronto, Canada, will recommend that Ontario should ban electronic cigarette use wherever tobacco smoking is currently banned, according to a story by Don Peat for the Toronto Sun.

The report is due to be presented to the Board of Health on Monday.

The health officials want to ban also the sale of flavored electronic cigarettes, electronic cigarette displays in retail stores and the sale of electronic cigarettes to those under the age of 19.

The report says that if the province refuses to regulate electronic cigarettes within six months, the city and Dr. David McKeown, the chief medical officer of health, should develop municipal regulations to ban electronic cigarette use in Toronto wherever tobacco smoking is banned.

At the same time, the board of health is being asked to urge federal health officials to crack down on electronic cigarettes.

Kate Ackerman, of the Electronic Cigarette Trade Association of Canada, which is in favor of restricting sales of electronic cigarettes to minors, warned there would be a “backlash” to the Toronto Public Health proposals.

Ackerman called the proposed policy a prohibition based on fear.