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There’s precedent for legislative preemption of county smoking bans: That’s what happened in 1993, when Democrats still held sway in Raleigh. Several municipalities in the state, Asheville among them, had moved to ban smoking from restaurants and bars. State legislators passed a law forbidding local governments from passing any smoking ordinances stricter than state law. That ban was only overturned in 2009. More recently, the state has been roiled in controversy over HB2, passed during a special session in March of this year. The law overturns a Charlotte city ordinance that would allow transgender people to use the bathroom of their choice, and also preempts municipalities from passing anti-discrimination laws that are stronger than a state standard. The specter of HB2 was raised last week by several opponents of the proposed e-cigarette ban. “Local boards making ordinances that deal with private business … is something I’ve heard a lot about recently,” said Jason Joyner, the lobbyist for the North Carolina Vaping Council. “I certainly would not like to see draconian-level policies come back from Raleigh because of a good faith effort made in Orange County.” Harm reduction Currently, state law classifies e-cigarettes as a tobacco product, which means the devices are forbidden in public schools, state and county buildings and vehicles and other state-run buildings, such as UNC athletic facilities, where tobacco products are banned. In this commercial, actress Jenny McCarthy says, “I get to have a blu without the guilt, because there’s only vapor, not tobacco smoke.”Many children’s health advocates worry these images will serve to “normalize” use of e-cigarettes. Image via youtube screen shot While state law bans smoking in restaurants and bars, now it’s up to counties to decide whether or not to extend that ban to e-cigarettes. More than 150 people had responded to a survey on whether or not to ban e-cigarettes in Orange County’s eating and drinking establishments. According to Bridger, more than 81 percent of those respondents supported the ban. But Bridger said she’s sympathetic to people who have used e-cigarettes to wean themselves from smoking tobacco, a strategy known as harm reduction. Many vapers have not weaned themselves from nicotine, which has negative health effects, but the harm- reduction argument holds that at least they’re not breathing in cancer-causing products of combustion, such as tar and soot, and are thus reducing negative health effects.