Toronto Bans E-Cigarettes From City Workplaces

The Toronto City Council voted 36-2 in favor of banning e-cigarettes from all city workplaces on Monday.

According to a Toronto Sun reporter, Mayor Rob Ford was one of the two votes against the ban.

The vote was part of a marathon session for the city council which could last several days and will address some 400 items from e-cigarettes to traffic lights.

Toronto is not the first major city in North America to issue a prohibition on e-cigarettes. In March, Los Angeles became the third city after New York and Chicago to outlaw e-cigarettes at the office, and Philadelphia followed soon after.

But the L.A. ban extended further than city workplaces with bans in place for bars, restaurants, and parks. In New York, e-cigarette smokers cannot vape anywhere where conventional smoking is also banned, and in Chicago, there’s an indoor smoking ban in place. Smaller cities have also taken up the issue, and it’s expected that more cities will consider similar bans.

Health Canada, the government’s public health department, advised Canadians not to buy e-cigarettes as long ago as 2009, CTV News reports, but there are no formal prohibitions on the sale of e-cigarettes unless they are “expressly intended” for nicotine delivery. That allows many retailers to circumvent a crackdown by regulators.

Earlier this year, the FDA said it would increase its regulation over e-cigarettes, and on Sunday night, the American Heart Association called for stricter oversight, especially when it comes to marketing to kids.