Whatever convenience accompanied those smokeless e-cigarettes that have come into vogue recently evaporated on Thursday as the City Council voted to add them to the 2002 Smoke-Free Air Act, which prohibits smoking inside in public spaces. In a 48-3 vote, the legislative body passed the bill in its final meeting of the year (at which it also voted to ban styrene foam cups, for better or worse). Opponents of the devices have emphasized the unknown safety concerns over their use, and said they wanted to “de-normalize the act of smoking.” The law will go into effect 120 days after it is signed by the mayor, so the weather will likely have warmed up a bit. But there will still be plenty of opportunities to get cold and wet while sucking in water vapor and nicotine.
