A New York judge handed a victory to vapers Feb. 5, declaring vaping is not the same as smoking and e-cigarette use is not necessarily banned in all the same places as smoking.“An electronic cigarette neither burns nor contains tobacco,” said the court. “Instead, the use of such a device, which is commonly referred to as ‘vaping,’ involves the inhalation of vaporized e-cigarette liquid consisting of water, nicotine, a base of propylene glycol or vegetable glycerin and occasionally, flavoring.”

The issue was brought to the court in the case of People v. Thomas, after vaper Shawn Thomas was issued a citation on the subway and subsequently challenged the citation in court. New York law defines smoking as “the burning of a lighted, cigarette, pipe or any other matter or substance which contains tobacco.” The state claimed there was no need for a specific state-wide ban on vaping to justify the citation, since “the courts of New York have yet to make a determination as to whether electronic cigarettes are to be viewed any differently under these sections than tobacco cigarettes.”

New York City wants to limit smokers’ access to lifesaving vapor products, and create a mechanism to eliminate vape shops in the future. That’s the purpose of a proposed ordinance set for a hearing at the city council meeting on Thursday, April 27. The 10:00 a.m. meeting at City Hall in Lower Manhattan is open to the public. Filling the council chambers with vapers Thursday morning is crucial.

The bill will create a 90-day window for vape retailers to apply for licenses, then stop issuing new licenses after that. By preventing entrepreneurs from opening shops in the future, and restricting the transfer of existing licenses, the city intends to eliminate vape shops from the city by attrition. The law is bad for businesses, and terrible for consumers. Mayor Bill de Blasio took to Twitter last week to brag about the ordinance.

CASAA has issued a call to action. Vapers can send a message now to members of the City Council’s Committee of Health. New York City residents are urged to be at the meeting if at all possible. Even if you don’t wish to speak at the meeting, presenting the council with an imposing display of opposition can have a powerful effect.

Several other tobacco-related rules are set to be discussed, including increasing taxes to raise the minimum price of cigarettes in New York to $13 a pack. Overtaxing cigarettes has already made New York the biggest market for illegal sales of tobacco products in the country. Now the mayor and his council cronies want to restrict residents’ ability to choose less risky alternatives too.Ecigs Distributor

This argument was dismissed by the judge since vapor products don’t align with the state’s definition of smoking since they contain no tobacco. New York does, however, already have explicit vaping bans in some public areas. “Since April 29, 2014, it has been illegal under New York City’s Smoke-Free Air Act to use electronic cigarettes in certain public places. The New York State legislature is also well aware that the Public Health Law does not currently prohibit the use of electronic cigarettes,” the court said.

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