Alabama will officially prohibit vaping in enclosed public places, restaurants, retail shops, and sports venues starting Oct. 1. The legislation mirrors existing statewide restrictions on traditional combustible cigarettes to address public exposure to secondhand vapor.
According to the Alabama Department of Public Health, one in four residents in the state currently smokes or vapes. State Health Officer Dr. Scott Harris supported the measure, stating, “This is a wonderful thing for the state of Alabama and we’re so pleased from the standpoint of protecting health and safety.”
State Sen. Gerald Allen, R-Tuscaloosa, pursued the bill after observing spectators vaping in the stands at a middle school football game. “This issue was created a ballgame knowing that people around me was affected by vaping by the fumes that was left there by this one individual,” Allen said.
State Rep. Barbara Drummond, D-Mobile, emphasized the preventive health focus of the measure: “While the long-term health effect of vaping continues to be studied by us, we know that this is not good for our public health.”
Stricter Rules for Campus Visitors and Businesses
While student use of e-cigarettes is already barred on school grounds, the new law extends these restrictions to all adult visitors entering any educational facility across the state.
“Not only are we going to take this very seriously for our young people, but we’re going to take it very seriously for the people visiting our campus,” said State Superintendent of Education Dr. Eric Mackey.
Both individual violators and business owners who permit vaping on their premises will be subject to monetary fines under the statute.
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