DENVER, Colo.—Jared Polis enacted legislation today (House Bill 1076) that adds e-cigarettes to Colorado’s statewide smoke-free law and prohibits their use in public places and workplaces. The new law takes effect July 1.
RJ Ours, the Colorado government relations director for the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN), released the following statement:
"By signing this important legislation into law, Governor Polis has helped protect the health of Coloradans to ensure that everyone who lives and works in Colorado can breathe clean air that’s free from all secondhand smoke, including e-cigarette aerosol. E-cigarette aerosol is not harmless and poses potential health risks to both users and nonusers. It can contain nicotine and other harmful and potentially harmful substances.
"This new law is also critical to help curb the e-cigarette epidemic in Colorado. It will discourage kids from using e-cigarettes and make sure that the public health benefits of strong smoke-free laws are not undermined.
"ACS CAN thanks Gov. Polis for signing this bill into law and looks forward to the rollout of the law on July 1. We remain committed to working with communities, as we have since 2006, who want to look for opportunities to strengthen their local ordinances beyond the state law."
About ACS CAN
The American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) is making cancer a top priority for public officials and candidates at the federal, state and local levels. ACS CAN empowers advocates across the country to make their voices heard and influence evidence-based public policy change as well as legislative and regulatory solutions that will reduce the cancer burden. As the American Cancer Society’s nonprofit, nonpartisan advocacy affiliate, ACS CAN is critical to the fight for a world without cancer. For more information, visit www.fightcancer.org.