Iowa Survey: Three-Quarters Support Including E-Cigarettes in Smoke-Free Laws

A recent Iowa media poll found that nearly three-quarters of Iowans support state legislative action to ban the use of e-cigarettes in public places where smoking is prohibited.

As bills in the Iowa House and Senate failed to advance during this legislative session, the poll still showed support for including e-cigarettes under Iowa’s Smokefree Air Act.

According to a survey conducted by Selzer & Co. from March 2 to 5, 74% of respondents said they support expanding Iowa’s Smokefree Air Act, which bans smoking in many public places, to also include e-cigarettes.

Twenty-one percent said they opposed the legislation, while 5% said they were unsure.

Support for a public e-cigarette ban crossed demographic lines. Democrats showed the highest support at 81%, followed by independents at 74% and Republicans at 69%. The proposal was slightly more popular among women (79%) than men (68%).

The March survey polled 800 adults and had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.

Joanne Merola, a 64-year-old respondent from Shenandoah, said she supports a ban because she does not want her grandchildren exposed to vaping in public.

She said, “I don’t want my grandkids exposed to this behavior, because it’s not good. Every time I see it, I just want to say, ‘Do you know how bad this is for you?’”

Timothy Spencer, a 27-year-old respondent from Des Moines, believes there is no need to completely ban public vaping. Spencer said he has used e-cigarettes in public before and has seen many people misunderstand what they are.

He also said he does not believe there is enough reliable science proving that secondhand vapor from e-cigarettes is harmful. “Are e-cigarette users vaping in malls or restaurants? No, they’re outside in parks or other places, and I don’t think that harms anyone else.”

E-cigarette products include devices, nicotine, flavorings, and other ingredients. Health officials linked e-cigarettes to last August and September’s outbreak of lung injury hospitalizations.

Specifically, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention linked the lung illness outbreak to vitamin E acetate, an additive in THC products, the psychoactive chemical in cannabis.

As of February 18, the CDC had counted 2,807 hospitalized patients across all 50 states for lung injuries associated with the use of e-cigarette products. The agency had confirmed 68 deaths in 29 states.

As of March 3, the Iowa Department of Public Health had recorded 60 confirmed cases of vaping-related lung injury. The state reported no deaths. Among hospitalized patients, 46 reported using e-cigarette products containing THC.

The Iowa Department of Public Health backed these bills during this legislative session. At a subcommittee hearing, one lawmaker noted that concern about exposure to vapor stems from a lack of scientific knowledge about the secondhand effects of e-cigarettes.

Passed in 2008, the Iowa Smokefree Air Act prohibits smoking in certain public places and enclosed workplaces, including restaurants and bars, as well as some outdoor areas, including sports venues, restaurant patios, and the grounds of public buildings. In recent years, several states have begun imposing bans on e-cigarettes similar to those for smoking.

The two bills introduced this year by the Iowa Department of Public Health to ban public vaping both failed to make it past the first legislative “funnel” deadline. A bill must be approved by a full House or Senate committee in order to remain alive after the funnel deadline.