QUINTE WEST – Residents in Quinte West who use e-cigarettes and hookahs could face a new smoking bylaw.
Karen White with the Hastings-Prince Edward County Canadian Cancer Society addressed Quinte West council on the matter on Monday night.
White asked council to implement a bylaw that would ban e-cigarettes and hookah pipes from being used in public places – both indoor and outdoor.
Harmful carcinogens, such as nicotine, can be passed on through second-hand smoke and it was one of White’s main concerns with the handheld smoking devices.
Quinte West Mayor Jim Harrison said the issue has been brought up to him many times before from concerned members of the public.
“There have been people who have been making a fuss about it, in particular at (the Duncan-McDonald Memorial Arena),” he said. “I have had people tell me they can smell (the second-hand smoke from e-cigarettes) and they don’t like it.”
The mayor added that city staff would do some research and report back to council before any bylaw would be passed.
“If it’s a health issue then we have to deal with it,” said Harrison. “Whatever comes back, we’ll follow it.”
The city already has laws in place that ban second-hand smoke from cigarettes in public places.
Council will receive a staff report in January and will make a decision then.