Louisville adds electronic cigarettes, hookahs to smoking ban

Electronic cigarettes and hookahs are now included in the smoking ban of Kentucky's largest city. The Louisville Metro Council voted 15-6 Tuesday night to expand its anti-smoking ordinance.

“Neither e-cigs or hookah can be deemed safe or healthy for human consumption,” said Council Member Vicki Aubrey Welch, the legislation's sponsor. Welch, a Democrat, said council members compromised with local business owners who were concerned "about the measure’s likelihood to reduce retail activity," Jacob Ryan reports for WFPL.

"Consumers can still sample electronic cigarette flavors, under the measure, and certain hookah lounges will be exempt from the regulations," Ryan reports.

Mayor Greg Fischer, a Democrat up for re-election next year, asked in February for the expansion of the ban enacted in 2008. Opposition was bipartisan.

Council Member Kevin Kramer, a Republican, "said he’s been provided with little evidence that hookah products are detrimental to users’ health," Ryan reports. Council Member Mary Woolridge, a Democrat, "called the ordinance an overreach of government regulation."

“I don’t know where all this concern is, when we have to breathe the air in West Louisville and Rubbertown,” Woolridge said, referring to chemical plants on the west side of the city. Neighboring Council Member Jessica Green, another Democrat, called the move a Fischer "publicity stunt."

The move drew praise from the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky. "These products emit dangerous toxins into the air that are known to cause cancer and other debilitating illnesses," said Ben Chandler, president and CEO of the foundation. "While the expanded ordinance includes some regrettable exemptions that will leave some Louisvillians unprotected, this is a step in the right direction toward cleaner air and reduced health disparities."

Smoking hookahs can cause carbon monoxide poisoning

Though they're often viewed as just cool and unusual, hookahs, exotic-looking water pipes that can be smoked at several restaurants and bars in Lexington and Louisville, can cause carbon-monoxide poisoning.

That was the case with a young man who was brought to Jewish Hospital in Louisville last fall after passing out, reports Joseph Lord of The Courier-Journal. His symptoms indicated carbon monoxide poisoning, but doctors were confused by its source. After more research, they determined it was from a hookah. His monoxide level was tested at about 29 percent. A cigarette smoker can have a level of about 5 percent. (Photo of Amanda Steinhauer and Don Moore by Aaron Borton) "They're the levels we're used to seeing when you have furnace issues, house fires, car in the garage — the really significant carbon-monoxide poisonings," said Henry Spiller, director of the Kentucky Regional Poison Center.

The increased level is not entirely surprising, given that research shows the average cigarette smoker takes about 10 puffs per cigarette, while a hookah session might involve 100 puffs. Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show a one-hour hookah session involves the user inhaling 100 to 200 times the volume of smoke than would be inhaled from one cigarette.

Symptoms of carbon-monoxide poisoning include nausea and fatigue. Long-term health problems can include neurological damage. (Read more)