Houston Health Department on e-cigarette ban: 'While users inhale e-cigarette aerosol into their lungs, bystanders can also breathe in this aerosol'

The Houston City Council unanimously voted to impose a ban on e-cigarettes indoors Wednesday (March 30), according to reports from Houston-based media outlets. The ordinance, proposed by the Houston Health Department, prohibits e-cigs and vaping devices in places where tobacco products aren't allowed.

According to Houston CBS affiliate KHOU, the ban has been in effect since the vote. The health department said that offenders could be subjected to a penalty of a fine between $250-$2,000, but it'll also educate citizens about the new laws, the station reported.

"While users inhale e-cigarette aerosol into their lungs, bystanders can also breathe in this aerosol when the user exhales it into the air," the ordinance says.

The city bans cigarettes in enclosed public places or workplaces, within 25 feet of a building's main entrance or exit doors, outdoor venues and public transportation stops, KHOU reported.

However, the city does allow smoking in tobacco establishments and homes as long as it's not used as a daycare or health care facility.

Houston Health Department spokesman Porfirio Villarreal told Houston ABC affiliate KTRK that electronic smoking devices hurt people just as much as regular cigarettes, cigars and pipes do.

"When smokers breathe in the aerosol (from e-cigarettes and vaping products), it contains nicotine, chemicals that could cause cancer," Villarreal said, according to the station. "It can also have flavorings that cause serious lung disease."

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control said, according to Houston NBC affiliate KPRC, that nicotine can be found in most e-cigs.

The CDC added that nicotine poses an extreme danger to adolescents as it stunts the development of their brains.

Age 25 is when the human brain achieves full development, according to the University of Rochester Medical Center.