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Illinois may soon ban vaping in public places, vape shop owners disagree with bill

Illinois could soon ban smoking electronic cigarettes indoors, similar to current tobacco laws.

MOLINE, Illinois -- State lawmakers are moving forward on legislation that bans smoking electronic cigarettes inside public places. The bill passed in the Illinois Senate on October 29, 2019, and will now move to the House Rules Committee.

While none wanted to speak on camera, several local vape shop owners and employees agreed that the decision to ban vaping indoors should be up to individual businesses.

Current Illinois law bans smoking cigarettes indoors, and e-cigarettes would be included in that law if passed.

Janet Hill with Rock Island County Public Health Department cited research that suggests vape clouds, inhaled through secondhand smoke, could have damaging health effects like cigarette smoke.

"Vaping is not harmless in any way," Hill says. "The secondhand vaping in just as dangerous as secondhand smoke."

Hill says she could see this bill passing into law.

"People will say they have the right to do what they want to do, but people who don't want to (vape) have a right to be free of those considerations," Hill says.

Read More: Third Illinois resident dies of vaping-related lung damage

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