The New Amendment Will Prevent Those On County Property From Being Exposed To Potentially Harmful Smoke And Vapors Emitted From Electronic Smoking Devices

Kingston, NY — Today, Ulster County Executive Mike Hein signed into law an amendment to the County’s current Anti-Smoking Law which is designed to prevent those on Ulster County property from being exposed to potentially harmful smoke and vapors emitted from electronic smoking devices. The law will amend Ulster County’s Anti-Smoking Law of 2008, prohibiting smoking on all real property leased or owned by Ulster County, and will now include the use of all electronic smoking devices in the ban.  

“It is important to amend Ulster County’s Anti-Smoking Law to address technological changes and ensure the health and well-being of our citizens from the harmful and negative effects of secondhand smoke and vapors,” said County Executive Hein.   “The vapors emitted from these devices may still have the same harmful and negative effects of secondhand smoke on bystanders.  By amending this law, we are ensuring that our employees, residents, children and visitors are not exposed to the potentially harmful vapors at any of our properties and we set a very clear and positive example. I want to personally commend Legislator Jeanette Provenzano and her colleagues for voting for this important amendment to the County Law.”

Carol M. Smith, M.D., M.P.H., Commissioner of Health and Mental Health

“Tobacco companies are continually exploring new ways to recruit additional cigarette users,” said Carol M. Smith, M.D., M.P.H., Commissioner of Health and Mental Health.  “E-cigarettes are a sophisticated nicotine delivery system that produces harmful chemical by-products and that encourages the use of other tobacco products by adults and youth. The most recent National Youth Tobacco Survey showed e-cigarette use is growing fast. More than a quarter of a million youth who had never smoked a cigarette used electronic cigarettes in 2013, according to a CDC study published in the journal Nicotine and Tobacco Research. This number reflects a three-fold increase, from about 79,000 in 2011, to more than 263,000 in 2013. The CDC also reports that e-cigarette related poisonings are also increasing rapidly. According to a CDC study, the number of calls to poison centers involving e-cigarette liquids containing nicotine rose from one per month in September 2010 to 215 per month in February 2014.  More than half (51.1 percent) of the calls to poison centers due to e-cigarettes involved young children under age 5, and about 42 percent of the poison calls involved people age 20 and older.  I applaud the efforts of County Executive Hein to limit the use of this harmful product in Ulster County.”

Jeanette Provenzano, Ulster County Legislator

“Electronic smoking devices have become increasingly popular and it is important that we address their use on County property,” said Ulster County Legislator Jeanette Provenzano.  “I am glad County Executive Hein and the Legislature are working together to protect bystanders from the potentially dangerous effects of e-cigarettes emission which contain enough nicotine and numerous other chemicals to cause concern.”

Ellen Reinhard, Director, TFAC – Tobacco Free Action Communities

“TFAC-Tobacco Free Action Communities thanks the Ulster County Executive and the Ulster County Legislature for providing employees, clients and community members with a healthier environment by expanding the current Ulster County smoke-free property law to include e-cigarettes,” said Ellen Reinhard, Director of TFAC. “This is important because there is no proof that e-cigarette vapors, which contains carcinogens and other toxic chemicals, are harmless to people exposed to them. Furthermore, the use of e-cigarettes in public, smoke-free areas creates confusion with enforcement, giving the appearance that smoking is acceptable.”

Cheryl DePaolo, Director, Ulster Prevention Council

“As we work toward the goal of making Ulster County the healthiest County in New York State, I applaud County Executive Hein and the Legislature for their thoughtful decision and action as consumers don’t know all of the risks of e-cigarettes, including potentially harmful chemicals and safety issues,” said Cheryl DePaolo, Director of the Ulster Prevention Council.  “The research isn't in yet. In the prevention community, concern has been raised about manufacturers catering to the teenage demographic in the hopes of snaring young users as replacement for smokers that die. Product flavors include cherry, vanilla, grape, cola and so on.”

Electronic cigarettes known more commonly as E-cigs are battery operated devices that heat a liquid form of nicotine in cartridges that produce a vapor which is inhaled.  Several organizations such as the American Cancer Society, American Heart Association, and Tobacco-Free Kids have all raised serious questions about the harmful effects of electronic smoking devices and have called for action preventing the exposure to second hand vapors emitted from such devices.  Each year secondhand smoke kills thousands of non-smokers and tobacco use is still the leading cause of preventable death in the United States.  Every year, over 23,000 adults in New York State die from smoking and about 3,000 nonsmoking adults die from diseases caused by secondhand smoke, including heart disease, lung cancer and stroke.

Pictured below: Ulster County Executive Mike Hein is joined by (from left): Carol M. Smith, M.D., M.P.H., Commissioner of Health and Mental Health; Ulster County Legislator Hector Rodriguez, Ulster County Executive Jeanette Provenzano; Ellen Reinhard, Director of TFAC; Cheryl DePaolo, Director of Ulster Prevention Council; Ulster County Legislator Donald Gregorius; and Ulster County Legislator Chris Allen