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Franklin County Fiscal Court approves ordinance adding vape products to public smoking ban

Posted at 4:23 PM, Dec 23, 2019
and last updated 2019-12-23 19:47:28-05

FRANKFORT, Ky. (LEX 18_ — The Franklin County Fiscal Court approved an ordinance that would amend the county's existing smoking ban in public, to include vaping devices. The Franklin County Health Department said the ban is one step closer to changing the norm on vaping.

The Franklin County Health Department said that through their studies, they've found kids who use Juuls are going through two Juul pods a day. And those pods contain more nicotine than a pack of cigarettes.

"There's 21 milligrams in one pack of cigarettes and in one Juul, which is the first vaping product that came out, there's actually 41 milligrams of nicotine containing in that one Juul pod," Brittany Parker, with the Franklin County Health Department said.

That is part of the reason the Franklin County Fiscal Court added vape products to their already existing smoking ban. "When there is second hand smoke, and vapor that comes out of a device like this, you're not making that personal choice. Someone else has made that personal choice to use that device. Then it puts out a cloud of chemicals that can be very toxic and harmful to you in the long run," Magistrate Sherry Sebastian said.

The health department hopes the policy change with enforce social change. "You don't see cigarette lights in your cars anymore or ash trays in your car.You don't go to a restaurant and see an ash tray on your table. It's not the social norm that you smoke a cigarette out in public," Parker said.

Sebastian said the fiscal court is trying to be proactive, instead of reactive. "When things aren't as prevalent to you and you're not having access to them as easily, it does help diminish the capacity for someone to say okay, I think I want to try that. So now, it's not right in your face so they're not doing it as much."

The county joins 16 other Kentucky communities that have a ban in place.