Law prohibiting indoor vaping goes into effect statewide Aug. 1

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E-cigarette and vape use will soon be regulated like cigarettes in restaurants, bars and almost all indoor workplaces and public places thanks to a new Minnesota law.

The Minnesota Clean Indoor Air Act will go into effect Aug. 1 and will prohibit e-cigarette use in those public, indoor places.

The Minnesota Department of Health said that e-cigarette aerosol contains harmful chemicals like ultrafine particles, heavy metals like nickel, tin and lead and other cancer-causing chemicals.

“This policy change is good news for current and future generations of Minnesotans,” MDH Commissioner Jan Malcolm said. “By limiting the use of these products in public places, we protect people from exposure to harmful chemicals and send a message to kids and teens that e-cigarette use is not a healthy behavior.”

According to the U.S. Surgeon General, e-cigarette use has reached epidemic levels. In 2017, a survey found that nearly 20 percent of high school students use e-cigarettes with about 40 percent of them having tried it.

The law will go into effect statewide in August, but at least 25 counties and 31 cities in Minnesota have already added e-cigarettes to their indoor air policies.