On Wednesday night, Wake County officials tightened the ban on the use of cigarettes, vape, as well as other tobacco products.
In metropolitan Wake County, none of these are permitted in government structures, parks and recreational areas, theaters, banks, supermarkets, retail malls, or essentially any other indoor public space.
The manager of Wake County’s health promotions, Sarah Plentl, argued that this would be the most extensive tobacco-free strategy that could be implemented.
The aim is to reduce e-cigarette use among young adults and children.
According to the most recent Youth Tobacco Survey, e-cigarette usage among high schoolers in North Carolina has surged by over 1,000% in the last ten years.
According to Sig Hutchinson, chair of Wake County, “by making it harder for people to smoke, there’s a larger chance that they’ll truly quit.” “We need to take action to stop Wake County’s rapidly rising nicotine consumption.”
Plentl concurs and claims to have noticed a surge as well.
Plentl stated, “We absolutely have observed a spike in ER admissions and just hospital visits related to the usage of vaping goods, especially with our youth.
The state already forbids indoor smoking in bars and restaurants, but each city and municipality is allowed to enact additional tobacco-free regulations.
Local governments in Wake County that now have less stringent rules are hoping to adopt Wake’s zero-tobacco policy as a result of this shift, according to county leaders.
Although we’re taking the initiative on this, Hutchinson said, “we’re appealing to our municipal partners to support us with this. We also recognize the importance of tobacco and the harm it causes to our communities.
