The Franklin City Council will decide if e-cigarettes and vaping should be allowed inside restaurants and other public places next month.
On Monday, the Franklin city council introduced a proposal that would add e-cigarettes and vaping to the city’s smoking ban. Currently, the ban includes cigarettes, cigars and pipes, meaning people can still smoke an e-cigarette inside restaurants or public buildings.
The council will have a public forum where members of the community can speak in favor or against an amendment to ban e-cigarettes and vaping on Aug. 1 and will also vote on the measure.
Local health leaders have said the city should follow the example of Greenwood and include vaping and e-cigarettes in the citywide smoking ban. Greenwood amended its citywide ban last year to include e-cigarettes and vaping.
Amending Franklin’s smoking ban the same way Greenwood did is in the city’s best interest, city attorney Lynn Gray said.
