Home » Louisville hosting community forum on including e-cigs, hookah products in smoke-free ordinance

Louisville hosting community forum on including e-cigs, hookah products in smoke-free ordinance

Scheduled for Wednesday

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (Sept. 22, 2016) — Louisville is hosting a community educational forum on the possibility of expanding Louisville’s smoke-free ordinance to include electronic-cigarettes and hookah products. The forum will be from 6-7:30 p.m. on Wednesday at the Department of Public Health and Wellness, 400 E. Gray St.

Panelists include:

  • Aruni Bhatnagar, PhD, FAHA, professor at the University of Louisville School of Medicine
  • Robert Jacobs, PhD, professor at the University of Louisville School of Public Health and Information Sciences
  • Paul Kiser, PhD; assistant professor at Bellarmine University
  • Carol Riker, MSN, RN, Associate Professor Emeritus, UK College of Nursing
  • Monica Mundy, MPH, Community Advisor for the Kentucky Center for Smoke-free Policy at the University of Kentucky

In 2008, Louisville enacted a comprehensive smoke-free ordinance, prohibiting smoking tobacco products in all indoor public places and worksites.

Since passage of the ordinance, e-cigarettes and hookah products have come on the market. More than 500 communities across the country, including 13 in Kentucky, already include e-cigarettes or hookah in their smoke-free laws. Many local businesses, healthcare facilities and educational institutions in Louisville also include e-cigarettes or hookah in their own wellness policies.

Experts will present scientific data on the effects of secondhand exposure to e-cigarettes and hookah products. The public is encouraged to ask questions and offer comments.