Frisco City Council members voted unanimously Feb. 18 to ban e-cigarettes where smoking is banned. The approved ordinance also bans the sale of e-cigarettes to minors, as well as the use of and possession of e-cigarettes by minors.

Retail stores selling e-cigarettes are excepted from the ordinance, and can allow the use of the product in their place of business for tasting and instructional purposes. The businesses will not be required to have any special ventilation.

All council members strongly agreed with the ban as it pertains to minors.

Nearly across the board, council members said that while the potential harmful effects of e-cigarettes have not proven to be at the level of regular cigarettes, they do not agree that smokers should be allowed to smoke e-cigarettes anywhere.

Councilman Will Sowell said e-cigarettes should fall under the same restrictions as regular cigarettes, not because they present the same risk, but because people perceive it "right, wrong or indifferent" as a nuisance.

"To the folks in the vaping community, I would caution you, based on my research, that vaping is not the same as a tobacco product, nor is it the same as non-smoking," Sowell said. "You can't say, 'Don't regulate us as tobacco because we're just like non-smoking.' While I would tend to agree that the secondhand residual vapor isn't as harmful as tobacco smoke, one, most people don't know that, and two, it is still a nuisance, especially in places like a movie theater or a restaurant where somebody is sitting beside you."

Councilman Bob Allen said he does not view e-cigarettes any differently than regular cigarettes.

"I don't think I, my family or our citizens should be exposed to that in an environment where they aren't allowed to be exposed to cigarettes anyway," he said.

Common sense, councilman Jeff Cheney said—not lighting an e-cigarette in places such as theaters or next to other people—does not always prevail, and he said he does not think it is unreasonable to ask people to go outside to smoke an e-cigarette.

"My kids have been impacted personally," he said. "I have heard from a lot of parents—people smoking them in movie theaters, in restaurants next to people—and to council member [Tim] Nelson's point, this is always a delicate subject when you are discussing the rights of one versus the rights of many."

Councilman John Keating said he is glad smokers have the alternative to regular cigarettes to turn to, "but at the same time, I have seen common sense sort of float away with the vapor smoke It's not the same experience for those that use them and those that don't."

Nelson agreed with the ban as it pertains to minors, but disagreed slightly with the rest of the ban. He said that without more conclusive evidence about harmful effects, businesses should be able to decide on their usage.

"I came from a smoking family, and while I don't like smoking and would prefer to ban it, I have a hard time taking away an individual's right to do so when it's not hurting someone else," he said. "There are plenty of bad habits out there that annoy me that I would love to ban—popping of gum, dipping in public places, poor driving—but the fact of that matter is you can't, and I don't think you should."

During the vote, Nelson sided with his fellow council members in support of the full ban.

Two people spoke during the citizens' forum, both in support of the ban on e-cigarettes and minors, but in opposition to the ban on e-cigarettes in places where smoking is banned.

A Little Elm resident said that when it comes to restaurants and businesses, the business owner should be allowed to decide whether e-cigarettes can be used.

"It is not a tobacco cigarette," she said.

A representative with The Vapor Bar, a Frisco business, said e-cigarettes should not be banned in public places because the research does not prove they are harmful.

"We believe that the decision to ban it in public places or to put it and those who use them in a class with tobacco products is premature," she said.