Dallas City Council unanimously approved a ban on vaping in public spaces Wednesday after more than a year of advocacy from the Environmental Commission and the Office of Environmental Quality and Sustainability.
Hitting a vape indoors, within 15 feet of an establishment entrance or on park property is outlawed, the city’s smoking ordinance now states. The ban will go into effect Dec. 11, 2025, at which point violators will face a fine of up to $500 for nicotine puffing in public. The ban will require businesses such as restaurants, hotels and fitness centers to update "no smoking" singage to include electronic devices.
Council member Cara Mendelsohn described the initiative as “very personal to her” following her mother’s death from lung cancer. Supporters of the ban have pointed to data from the Centers for Disease Control and the U.S. Surgeon General that suggests direct and second-hand inhalation of smoke from electronic smoking devices poses a public health risk, particularly to children and elderly individuals.
“I am here today to thank you for taking this up and realizing that electronic smoking products do create a hazard in workplaces,” Kay Kamm, a Duncanville resident and representative of the American Cancer Society, told the council. “This is an extremely important step for the city of Dallas to join other cities that have done this.”
Vaping has been banned in Austin and Houston since 2017 and 2022, respectively.
Last month, San Antonio passed a similar vaping ban ordinance that outlaws electronic smoking in public spaces. San Antonio City Council member Marc Whyte urged the state legislature to consider stricter regulations for vape shops — such as not allowing the shops to open near schools — in the upcoming legislative session.
Jordan Palmer, a representative with the American Lung Association, applauded the passage of Dallas’ vaping ban, telling the council that the rise of e-cigarettes has eroded “decades of public health progress” in preventing teen tobacco use.
“There is no risk-free level of exposure to second-hand smoke or exposure to some of the chemicals found in e-cigarettes," Palmer said. “These products are dangerous and are undermining the efforts of this city council to combat tobacco use rates.”
Dallas County officials have been battling the growing popularity of electronic smoking devices for years. In 2019, Dr. Phillip Huang, director of Dallas County’s Health and Human Services Department, warned that 17 cases of severe respiratory illnesses across the county were believed to be linked to vaping. Eight of the patients were minors.
“The fact is we have previously healthy teenagers who are now in intensive care and intubated and on ventilators,” Huang told the County Commissioners Court at the time.
