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By demonizing pleasure, we set ourselves up for unfulfilling sex lives.
Opinion: Let’s talk about sex
Published March 27, 2024

City e-cig policy a premature law

The decision is misguided, as the full effects of e-cigarettes aren’t yet known.

The Minneapolis City Council voted unanimously last week to ban indoor public use of electronic cigarettes, commonly known as vaping. 

The ordinance, written by Ward 2 City Councilman Cam Gordon, will prohibit users from vaping in stores, restaurants and at work. It will allow people to vape at e-cigarette shops where sampling is necessary. This bill was proposed because of concerns of the unknown long-term health effects of e-cigarettes and their associated secondhand smoking effects.

We believe this bill is premature, as there has been plenty of circumstantial evidence that suggests e-cigarettes are helpful to people in quitting smoking, or at least significantly reducing their consumption of traditional cigarettes.

Until there is a scientific consensus on the long-term health effects of vaping, as well as documented evidence showing whether secondhand smoke from vaping is dangerous, it should be up to businesses and institutions themselves to determine whether they will allow e-cig use.

This bill is yet another example of the city overstepping its bounds and imposing an ill-conceived law that on the surface is supposed to help solve a public health issue that in reality is not so simple. 

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