Now that electronic cigarettes are becoming more and more popular it has been more common to see electronic cigarettes smoke in public places especially where traditional cigarettes are banned. However the question still remains “can you actually smoke electronic cigarettes anywhere?” In most places the answer is “Yes” even where traditional cigarettes are banned. There are few cases where you might run into problems if you smoke an e-cigarette and so far 1 US county has banned the use of electronic cigarettes in public places.
So far Suffolk County in NY has banned the use of electronic cigarettes in public places, according to this article: http://www.newyorkinjuries.com/blog/?p=10531. Does this mean that will be more bans for electronic cigarette smokers on where they can smoke their e-cigarette? Most likely yes, but as electronic cigarettes become more and more popular and the ongoing proven health benefits are presented to the government it is my opinion that the government will settle down.
With the exception of Suffolk County, legally you can smoke electronic cigarettes anywhere. However since your e-cigarette looks like a real cigarette it might confuse some people and you might be ask to not smoke it, for example if you are smoking your e-cigarette in a resturant puffing clouds of vapor you might be ask by the restaurant owner or manager to not smoke it because it looks like a real cigarette and they don’t want to have customer complaints. Possibly a way around that and a courtesy point would be to tell your waiter or waitress and other tables close to you that you have an e-cigarette and are going to smoke it, but don’t be alarmed it doesn’t produce smoke and they won’t even smell it.
I have smoked my e-cigarette at almost every public place you can imagine where traditional cigarettes are banned and have never once been told to put it away. In fact I have people come up to me and ask how I like it, tell me how cool it is and where can they get one.
