From Staff Reports 

Asheville City Council voted 7-0 on March 10 to ban the use of vapor-producing e-cigarettes from city buses, parks and greenways as well as in facilities such as the U.S. Cellular Center.

The proposed ban was part of the regular consent agenda, a list of items that are passed together with no discussion.

However, Councilman Gordon Smith asked that the e-cigarette issue be pulled from the consent agenda, so it could be discussed, forcing a standalone vote.

The ban had been recommended by the council’s three-member public safety committee after it received complaints from city bus riders about people using the devices, committee members said.

E-cigarettes do not burn material, but create vapor using a mechanical heating element, battery or electronic circuit. The devices are used to heat and vaporize a liquid solution in a cartridge usually containing nicotine.

Public safety committee member Cecil Bothwell said that, in his research, he has found that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration still is waiting to make a determination on the safety of e-cigarettes.