Escape The Vape: Hempstead Town Enforces Park Vaping Ban

As part of an effort to stop teens from vaping, the Town of Hempstead announced on Thursday that it would be enforcing a law that bans vaping in town parks.

Councilman Dennis Dunne, who is leading the charge, was joined by Councilwoman Erin King Sweeney to announce the enforcement. It is starting with new signage at town parks that address the vaping ban. Previously, signs at the parks simply said "Smoking Prohibited."

In 2010, the town passed a law banning smoking in parks. The law also applied to vaping, but the signs in the parks never mentioned it, leading to people still vaping. The councilmembers hope the new signs will address the issue.

“These signs, which make it clear that vaping is prohibited, are a great first step, but we are well aware that they are only part of what is needed to try to combat vape use by teens,” said Dunne. “We are starting here because this is one easy solution but we are working with other levels of government and concerned citizens to attack this issue on a larger scale.”

Vapes are battery-powered devices that heat a liquid — usually containing nicotine mixed with the chemicals and flavoring — into a vapor that users can inhale. They deliver nicotine to the body without producing any smoke. They are seen by some to be safer than smoking, but it's unclear if that is true.

This signs are a suggestion that came about at an initial meeting that Dunne held with various entities, including school officials and counseling facilities, to discuss ways in which to address the problem of young people using vapes. This meeting also led to Dunne developing a task force in an effort to attack the problem with a multi-prong approach.

“Public awareness has significantly decreased the use of traditional cigarettes and I am confident that these signs and the Councilman’s task force will achieve that same goal with e-cigarettes,” said King Sweeney.

Between 2011 and 2015, the U.S. Surgeon General found vape use among high school students increased by 900 percent, with more teens now using vapes than cigarettes. Some companies intentionally market products that are attractive to young people by having fun flavors and making them appear like a flash drive or pen, which can easily be hidden from parents and school officials. Many students do not even realize that the products they are using contain nicotine. The products can be easily purchased by kids online, and the vapes can also be used to smoke illegal substances like marijuana.

“I have heard so many terrible stories of kids, even athletes, who have started using vape products and have gone down a slippery slope,” Dunne said. “The health of our children is at stake. That is why I am not taking no for an answer. We are lobbying New York State to give us more jurisdiction to address this problem and we are working on several different ideas to increase awareness about the dangers of vape use.”

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