by SARAH THOMACKSt. Joseph Post A bill that will be up for a second reading at the next St. Joseph City Council meeting seeks to address concerns about vaping. There was a first reading at Monday’s city council meeting of a bill prohibiting the use of vapor products in indoor public places. St. Joseph Health Director Debra Bradley says while electronic cigarettes have helped some people quit smoking cigarettes, the concern is with vaping become a draw to young people. “E-cigarettes, especially with all of the multiple flavors, has been a draw to young people, particularly middle schoolers and high schoolers,” Bradley says. “Research has also shown that youth who use e-cigarettes and other vaping products, those who use it pretty frequently are more prone to later use cigarettes or other tobacco products and that’s the direction we do not want to go.” Bradley says since e-cigarettes have only been around for a little over a decade, there are no long-term studies yet on the impacts of e-cigarette use or secondhand effects. Bradley says there are concerns, however, and an ordinance up for a second reading at the St. Joseph City Council's next meeting will hopefully address some of those. “I would rather be extra cautious than not cautious enough for our community,” Bradley says. “I don’t want to take anybody’s rights away, I’m not going to say they can’t vape, but I do want to try to protect our community to the best of our ability and this is just one way that we feel like we can do that.” The bill is up for a second reading at the St. Joseph City Council's next meeting on October 21st.

St. Joseph City Council considers banning vaping indoors