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<br />Orange County moves to ban e-cigarettes <br /> MEGAN ROYER | PUBLISHED 02/22/16 10:47PM <br />CORRECTIONS: Due to a reporting error, the original version of this story misrepresented an Orange <br />County Board of Health memo. The memo was sent to health department staff. Due to another reporting <br />error, the original version of this story misrepresented the places e-cigarettes are banned. E-cigarettes <br />are banned in the Chapel Hill Public Library, some worksites and private businesses. The story has been <br />updated to reflect these changes. <br /> Individuals who smoke e-cigarettes may not be able to do so inside bars and restaurants in Orange <br />County much longer. <br />The Orange County Board of Health sent a memo to health department staff, directing them to prepare <br />a policy that would prohibit the use of e-cigarettes in already smoke-free indoor areas of restaurants <br />and bars. <br />Coby Jansen Austin, senior public health educator at the Orange County Health Department, said <br />research from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention may suggest negative health effects are <br />not limited to only the users of e-cigarettes. <br />Austin said since e-cigarettes are relatively new products, they have not been around long enough to <br />study long-term risks. Using e-cigarettes indoors can lead to secondhand exposure to the aerosol, which <br />can irritate the lungs and eyes of people around e-cigarette smokers, Austin said. <br />“(This is) especially concerning for children with asthma and other people with respiratory problems,” <br />Austin said. <br />Austin also said some local high school students have expressed their concern regarding e-cigarette use <br />by peers. <br /> “(We have seen) an overall increase in tobacco use among youth due to novelty products such as e- <br />cigs,” Austin said. <br />Mayor Pam Hemminger said in an email that the rise in e-cigarette use by middle school and high school <br />students is equally as concerning as the potential health problems from secondhand exposure to e- <br />cigarette aerosol. <br />Austin said places like the Chapel Hill Public Library and some worksites and private businesses have <br />already restricted the use of e-cigarettes.