Roswell Considers Banning E-Cigarettes In Parks

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Roswell leaders on Monday approved the first reading of changes to an ordinance that would expand the list of products banned in city parks.

The City Council voted 4-1, with Council member Becky Wynn opposing, an ordinance amendment that adds e-cigarettes, vape pens or similar devices to the list of smoking products that are prohibited in city parks and public places.

The second reading will be held next month.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, e-cigarette use skyrocketed among middle and high school aged children between 2013 and 2014.

“While e-cigarettes are often promoted as safer alternatives to traditional cigarettes, which deliver nicotine by burning tobacco, little is actually known yet about the health risks of using these devices,” the National Institute on Drug Abuse says on its website.

The battery-powered devices work by turning “chemicals, including highly addictive nicotine, into an aerosol that is inhaled by the user,” the Food and Drug Administration reports.

E-cigarettes have not been fully studied, so it’s unclear what potential risks they pose, how much nicotine is being inhaled during use or if there are any associated benefits from their use, the FDA adds.

Council members also approved an adaptive sports field project at Waller Park. The field, a barrier-free, handicapped accessible field, includes a synthetic surface suitable for wheelchairs and walkers.

The field will give children and adults with developmental disabilities the opportunity to play a sport on a level field.

Multiple sports can be played on this type of surface. The project is slated to cost $125,000, and the money has been provided by the Rotary Club of Roswell, Roswell Recreation Association, Friends of Roswell Parks and private citizens.

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